HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Dining Room Bookings

John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many bookings for dining rooms in the House received a 10 per cent. discount for block bookings in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: No discounts have been given for block bookings in the House of Commons dining rooms in the last 12 months.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Conferences

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the total cost was of the recent staff conferences held by her Department.

Vera Baird: The total cost of the recent staff conferences is currently being calculated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Alcoholic Drinks: Advertising Ban

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the merits of a ban on the advertising of alcoholic drinks  (a) on TV and  (b) in print media; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Government take the issue of alcohol misuse seriously, particularly among young people, and set out a programme of measures in the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England in 2004. The strategy noted the work being undertaken by Ofcom to review the rules on alcohol advertising on television.
	Ofcom conducted and assessed research about the impact of alcohol advertising and concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a ban. However, Ofcom's code amendments, which came into effect on 1 January 2005, significantly strengthened the rules on broadcast alcohol advertising in many areas particularly to protect the under-18s.
	In parallel with the changes to the TV Advertising Standards Code, the non-broadcast code was tightened to ensure that the content of all advertisements was socially responsible and that they did not contain a particular appeal to youth culture or links to sexual success and did not encourage antisocial behaviour. These new rules were introduced in October 2005 and have been monitored and enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). I understand the ASA and the Committees of Advertising Practice will be conducting further research this year to assess the effectiveness of the new code rules and will assess whether any further changes are required.
	The Department has made no separate assessment of the merits of an alcohol advertising ban.

Celebrity Big Brother

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints her Department has received about the allegations of racism on the Channel Four programme Celebrity Big Brother; and what representations she has received on this subject.

Shaun Woodward: By 25 January, the Department had received 65 written complaints and a small number of telephone complaints.

Celebrity Big Brother

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met Ofcom to discuss its complaints procedure.

Shaun Woodward: Parliament charges Ofcom directly to establish procedures to handle and resolve complaints (under the observance of standards, under Section 325 of the Communications Act 2003).

Correspondence

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects her Department to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for South-West Surrey dated 26 September and 15 November 2006.

David Lammy: holding answer 22 January 2007
	I apologise for not replying sooner to the letter dated 27 September from the hon. Member for South-West Surrey. This is due to an administrative error. I can confirm that I have responded to this letter on 24 January 2007. The letter dated 15 November 2006 has not been received by the Department.

Creative Industries

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the proposed Green Paper on the creative industries; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Creative Economy Programme Green Paper is due to be published before the summer recess. It will set out the strength of the creative industries to the UK economy, challenges and opportunities, and areas where Government can enable greater productivity.

Creative Industries

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken as a result of the work undertaken by the Creative Industries Entrepreneurship Task Group on entrepreneurship in the creative industries.

Shaun Woodward: The Entrepreneurship Task Group recommendations have been taken forward by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and will feature in the policy development of the Creative Economy Programme Green Paper, due for publication in the summer.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much programme expenditure sponsored by her Department was spent via each of the Government Offices for the Regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: None.

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which fixed assets her Department sold for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

David Lammy: In July 2005 the DCMS sold the freehold of the north east corner of the Royal Garden Hotel, London for the sum of £2.5 million to the Imperial Tobacco Pension Fund.
	In 2004-05 the DCMS sold the freeholds of 30, 31 and 32 Park street, Windsor, to its lessees. The date and sale price for each was as follows:
	
		
			  Date  Property  Amount (£000) 
			 7 January 2005 30 Park street 35 
			 23 March 2005 31 Park street 36 
			 29 March 2005 32 Park street 37

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of her Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department.

David Lammy: It would not be meaningful to provide an answer in percentage terms as my Department uses open source software mainly on backend systems which in themselves only make up a small percentage of total computer systems but which can be potentially accessed by a high percentage of staff.
	Open source software used by my Department includes Linux, MySQL and FireFox. We will continue to use open source software in the future where it makes business and economic sense to do so.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Consultants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 consultancy fees charged to his Department since May 1997 were the most expensive.

Alan Johnson: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many value for money exercises on the use of  (a) management consultants and  (b) professional advisers have been conducted by his Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: My Department has not conducted a formal Department-wide value for money review focusing specifically on management consultants or professional advisers in any of the last five years. However, the role and contribution of consultants and advisers is considered as part of reviews of specific projects and programmes and as part of standard contract management practice. We have also conducted a number of internal audit reviews and co-operated fully in external audit reviews of consultants during the period in question.

Educational Research

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on  (a) conducting and  (b) commissioning educational research in 2005-06.

Alan Johnson: In 2005-06 the Department commissioned, via its central research budget, research totalling £6.33 million of which £2.59 million was spent in the financial year. The total expenditure in 2005-06, including the cost of research commissioned in previous years, was £13.7 million. Other research is commissioned from other funds within the Department but details of the actual expenditure in year are not held centrally.
	Details of the Department's current research programme are contained in its Analytical Strategy 2006, copies of which are available from our website (www.dfes.gov.uk/research).

Enterprise Advisers

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of schools have a designated enterprise adviser.

Jim Knight: holding answer 27 November 2006
	The information requested is not collected and is not held centrally.

Head Teachers

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average salary was of an  (a) secondary school head teacher and  (b) deputy head teacher in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the average salary of head and deputy head teachers in maintained sector schools in England and Wales in March 1997, 2001 and 2005, the latest year available. The figure for deputy head teachers for 2005 includes assistant head teachers because the data source does not allow these grades to be separately identified. Provisional information for March 2006 is likely to become available in July 2007.
	
		
			  Average salary of head and deputy head teachers in maintained sector secondary schools in England and Wales, March 1997, 2001 and 2005 
			  £ 
			   1997  2001  2005( 1) 
			 Head 41,500 50,800 63,600 
			 Deputy head(2) 33,200 40,300 47,000 
			 (1) Provisional (2) Deputy head teacher figures for 2005 include assistant head teachers.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Database of Teacher Records (DTR)

Nurseries

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what local authority social services nurseries the city of Newcastle upon Tyne provided under the Children Act 1989 in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006;
	(2)  what guidance he has given to Newcastle upon Tyne city council on the closure or outsourcing of its existing local authority day nurseries; and what general guidance has been given to local authority children's services on the future of existing directly provided authorities;
	(3)  what representations he has received from individuals and organisations in Newcastle on  (a) the Children Act 1989 and  (b) the outsourcing and closure of existing local authority social service day nurseries under the Childcare Act 2006.

Beverley Hughes: Newcastle upon Tyne city council has been given no guidance on the closure or outsourcing of its existing local authority day nurseries and no representations have been received in relation to the outsourcing or closure of local authority social service day nurseries in Newcastle. Details of local authority social services nurseries in Newcastle are not held centrally.
	Section 8 of the Childcare Act 2006 provides that a local authority may not deliver new child care provision itself unless it is satisfied that no other provider is willing to do so or, if another provider is willing to do so, that in the circumstances it is appropriate for the local authority to provide the child care. We intend section 8 to come into force in October 2007. It will not affect the provision of child care by the governing body of a maintained school, and it will not apply to day care for children in need provided under section 18 of the Children Act 1989.
	We intend to begin consulting on draft statutory guidance which will cover section 8 of the Childcare Act 2006 (and other sections relating to the new local authority duty to secure sufficient child care for working parents which will come into force in April 2008) within the next few weeks. That guidance will make clear that the restriction in section 8 relates only to new or expanding local authority child care. There is no requirement for local authorities to close their existing provision, or change it when section 8 comes into force. If, however, a local authority wishes to expand existing child care in terms of the number of places or the hours offered, or if it wishes to open new provision, the requirements of section 8 will need to be met.

Parenting Contracts

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parenting contracts were issued in  (a) England,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) West Bromwich East in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: Between 1 August 2005 and 1 September 2006 (latest published data) local authorities in England have reported that 12,105 education-related parenting contracts have been agreed with parents, of which 1,256 were agreed by local authorities within the Government office for the West Midlands region. In Sandwell, of which the West Bromwich East constituency is part, 195 such contracts were agreed in the same period. We do not collect data below local authority level.
	Data on parenting contracts in cases of antisocial behaviour and criminal conduct are collected by the Youth Justice Board, from youth offending teams (YOTs). Between April 2005 and March 2006 (based on latest published data) YOTs in England have reported 421 such parenting contracts. During the same period 33 parenting contracts were reported by YOTs within the West Midlands region. One parenting contract was reported by Sandwell YOT. Data is not reported below YOT area.

Procurement Projects

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the 20 largest procurement projects initiated by his Department since May 1997 have been; what the  (a) original budget,  (b) cost to date and  (c) consultancy fees have been; and what the final cost was of each project which has been completed.

Alan Johnson: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

School Funding

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions are planned with Peterborough city council prior to the allocation of the dedicated schools grant for 2007-08, with particular reference to funding for children in maintained schools  (a) whose first language is not English and  (b) who are from ethnic minorities and are underachieving; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 25 January
	Mainstream school funding is provided through the dedicated schools grant (DSG) which sets local authorities allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08: the allocations for 2007-08 will depend on pupil numbers in schools in January 2007 and the guaranteed unit of funding per pupil set in December 2005, which took account of the number of children for whom English is an additional language and those pupils from ethnic minorities who are underachieving.
	The increase in Peterborough's DSG guaranteed unit of funding was 7 per cent. in 2006-07 and will be 6.8 per cent. in 2007-08.
	The guaranteed unit of funding per pupil was set in December 2005 to provide authorities with predictability and stability over a multi-year period; local authorities were fully consulted as part of this process. I am therefore not planning discussions with individual local authorities on their DSG allocations for 2007-08.
	In addition to DSG, schools also receive funding through the ethnic minority achievement grant (EMAG) for pupils for whom English is an additional language and pupils from ethnic minorities who are underachieving in the authority.

School Travel

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Travelling to School: A Good Practice Guide on children's behaviour cost  (a) to produce and  (b) to promote; how many copies have been distributed in each year since publication; and what assessment he has made of the impact thereof.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The production cost was £18,861. However, as it is now more than three years since the guide was published, it is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the manpower costs incurred by the Department for Transport and the Department for Education and Skills in researching and writing the guide.
	A total of 8,238 copies of the guide have were distributed up to the end of December 2006, 2,206 in 2003, 2,751 in 2004, 2,662 in 2005 and 619 in 2006.
	Both Departments have promoted the Travelling to School project to bring about a step change in home to school travel patterns. School travel plans are seen as the key strategies in cutting congestion and pollution while allowing more pupils to take regular exercise, and the objective is for every school in England to have an approved school travel plan in place by the end of the decade. At the end of March 2006, just over 10,000 schools had a school travel plan.
	An initial evaluation in 2005 of the Travelling to School project found a strong evidence base that school travel plans can be effective mechanisms for reducing car dependency on the journey to school. They can also deliver wider benefits including improvements in pupil behaviour, increased confidence and independent mobility for pupils with special educational needs, improved punctuality and school attendance, engaging schools and pupils from deprived areas, building positive relationships with local authorities and local communities and improved safety.

Students

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many foreign students attended universities in England in each year since 1996;
	(2)  how many students attended universities in England in each year since 1996.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Higher Education students in all UK Higher Education institutions, split by the students domicile for 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			   Students from: 
			  Academic year  UK  EU( 1)  Other Overseas( 2)  Total 
			 1996/97 1,532,205 84,795 101,910 1,718,910 
			 1997/98 1,558,585 92,850 108,115 1,759,555 
			 1998/99 1,598,945 98,190 108,940 1,806,075 
			 1999/2000 1,604,520 98,500 113,345 1,816,365 
			 2000/01 1,643,865 97,395 122,330 1,863,590 
			 2001/02 1,699,885 91,765 135,505 1,927,155 
			 2002/03 1,764,945 90,835 164,395 2,020,180 
			 2003/04 1,832,975 89,975 185,505 2,108,455 
			 2004/05 1,870,715 98,855 189,575 2,159,145 
			 2005/06 1,880,230 103,735 192,370 2,176,335 
			 (1) Includes from 2004/05 the 10 countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004. (2) Excludes from 2004/05 the 10 countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004.  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5, and are based on a snapshot count of students as at 1 December of each year.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

British Food

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI has a policy of supporting the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) through the contracted catering services. During the years in question on average 63 per cent. of food products purchased and served in 2005 was produced in the UK and in 2006 the equated to an average of 65 per cent.

Dispute Resolution

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the aims and objectives sent to Michael Gibbons when he was asked to conduct his independent review on dispute resolution.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have today placed a copy of the terms of reference of the review of dispute resolution in the Library of the House.

External Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which external consultants were used by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the nature and cost of the work was in each case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Neither the Department nor any of its Executive Agencies initiated any new private finance initiatives in financial year 2005-06 and accordingly did not employ any external consultants on such work.

Libya: Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the level of UK exports to Libya was in 2005-06.

Jim Fitzpatrick: UK exports of goods to Libya amounted to £210.6 million in 2005, and £181.2 million from January to November 2006.

Minimum Wage

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Copeland have had their incomes increased as a result of the introduction of the national minimum wage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Data at the parliamentary constituency level are not available. However, the DTI estimates that around 160,000 people in the North West of England (including Merseyside) stood to benefit from the October 2006 uprating of the national minimum wage.

Minimum Wage

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect the introduction of the national minimum wage has had upon income levels in Copeland.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Data at the parliamentary constituency level is not available. However, according to the Office for National Statistics' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, median hourly pay excluding overtime in the north-west of England (including Merseyside) rose 34 per cent. since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) (from £6.95 in 1998 to £9.32 in 2006). Though the NMW would have made some contribution to this increase, no quantitative assessment of its impact has been made.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the funding of British Nuclear Fuels' nuclear liabilities;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the latest accounts of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions his Department has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the effect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's fluctuating commercial revenues;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of fluctuating commercial revenues for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on the life-cycle baseline plans and near-term work plans of all NDA owned nuclear facilities; and what discussions his Department has held with the operators of these sites;
	(5)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's fluctuating income stream on  (a) the sale of Project Services,  (b) the sale of Magnox Electric,  (c) the competition for the contract to operate the national low level waste repository and  (d) the competition of the contract to run Sellafield;
	(6)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of fluctuating commercial revenues for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on accelerated decommissioning at Sellafield.

Malcolm Wicks: The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body responsible for the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's historic public civil nuclear legacy. Safety is clearly a Government priority and the NDA is responsible for ensuring this in managing its budget.
	The NDA is funded by a mixture of grant in aid from my Department and income from its commercial operations. Grant in aid for the NDA in 2007-08 was settled in the 2004 Spending Round. The figure is £1,381 million. There is no question of this funding being cut.
	For the last two years the level of spend by the NDA has been running at a significantly higher level that that assumed in the 2004 Spending Round. This was made possible because of unexpectedly high additional commercial income.
	The performance of some of the NDA's commercial operations is subject to uncertainty and the NDA now expects less commercial income for the financial year 2007-08 than it originally forecast. As a consequence, the NDA has asked my Department to provide additional grant to cover its additional spending plans.
	The Department is in discussion with the NDA about its funding request as part of routine annual budgeting discussions, and is considering how much additional NDA expenditure (that is, above and beyond that provided by the 2004 Spending Round) can be sustained through increases in grant in aid.
	The NDA's Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 were published on 26 October 2006 and copies were placed in the Libraries of the House. The Accounts are also available on the NDA website at: www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what effect he expects trends in the price of uranium to have on the final sale value of Urenco;
	(2)  when he expects British Nuclear Fuels to complete the sale of Urenco; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The valuation of Urenco is influenced by a range of different factors.
	Options for selling all or part of BNFL's stake are still being explored with BNFL's fellow shareholders in the business and with the Dutch and German Governments. We will decide on our preferred way forward once the issues have been thoroughly explored.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what date he expects British Nuclear Fuels to divest itself of all its business holdings.

Malcolm Wicks: By March 2008, we would expect Project Services, British Nuclear Group reactor sites and the interest in the Atomic Weapons Establishment to have been sold and the National Nuclear Laboratory set up based around the British Technology Centre in Sellafield, West Cumbria, and Nexia Solutions, which the Secretary of State announced on 24 October.
	Options for selling all or part of BNFL's stake in Urenco are still being explored with BNFL's fellow shareholders in the business and with the Dutch and German Governments. We will decide on our preferred way forward once the issues have been thoroughly explored.
	BNFL will maintain its involvement in the Sellafield Site Management Company until the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has transitioned the Sellafield contract to a new contractor.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department supports the use of open source software where it would provide long-term benefits to the Department.
	The Department has outsourced its core IT services under a long-term PFI deal to Fujitsu.
	Fujitsu is responsible for making technical decisions about which software and hardware to use to meet the Department's business needs. One of Fujitsu's objectives is to provide the Department with best value for money and, with that in mind, Fujitsu considers whether the use of open source software would be appropriate, taking into account such issues as support costs, interoperability, migration costs and retraining.
	To date, there is minimal use of open source software in the Department's core IT services, but Fujitsu regularly reviews whether its application would benefit the Department and if this is found to be the case, its introduction will be supported.
	The Office of Government Commerce has published a policy on the use of Open Source Software and the DTI's use of Open Source Software follows this policy where appropriate.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The cash equivalent transfer value of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in the DTI and its executive agencies is £3,755,000.
	Each year the DTI and other departments publish details of the pension benefits and CETVs of each of the members of the senior management team in a remuneration report. This can be accessed by members of the public on the DTI external website. Details of six of the 10 highest paid members of staff are included in the last remuneration report which was based on a closing date of 31 March 2006. Of the remaining four highest paid members of staff not included in the remuneration report accounts, the CETVs of two are included in the above total; the remaining two did not have any benefits in the scheme at the close of the accounts.

Post Office Closures

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received on the Government's announcement that up to 2,500 sub-post offices may close.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers have received a large number of responses to our national consultation from a wide range of people. There was a debate in the House on the post office network on 10 January and the question was also raised and discussed in the House on 18 January.

Post Office Closures

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the post offices which are planned to be closed.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No decisions have yet been made on individual post offices. When the Government reach their final decision on their proposals following the outcome of the national consultation we will task the Post Office with beginning the detailed planning needed to implement the required restructuring.

Post Office Closures

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response he has made to Postwatch's proposal that post office closures be divided equally between urban and rural areas.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I am not aware that Postwatch has made any such proposal.

Post Offices

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to participate in the Post Office network consultation; how many people in his Department are working on the consultation; and how much has been allocated to advertise the consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department made copies of the consultation document on the Post Office network available to Members of Parliament on 14 December. The document is also available electronically through the DTI and Directgov websites. Copies have also been sent to a wide range of stakeholder groups. Copies of the document may be copied and circulated freely.
	Welsh language copies of the document are available. Versions have also been prepared and distributed to the RNIB and individuals in Braille, audio tape and large print.
	A team of eight officials are involved in developing Government policy for the Post Office network and have been involved in preparing the consultation document. Some 50 members of staff are available to deal with the handling of responses to the consultation document.

Post Offices

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices there are in Cotswold constituency; and what support the network there receives from the Government, broken down by post office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The question the hon. Member has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd (POL) is directly responsible. The company has provided the following figures relating to the numbers of post office branches in the constituency. There are 42 post office branches in the Cotswold constituency, 40 classified as rural and two classified as urban. The information is placed in and available from the Library of the House.
	The Government's support helps Post Office Ltd to cover the fixed element of sub-postmasters' pay and to meet infrastructure costs such as IT operating costs, cash distribution, direct marketing, and the agents' information help line. As the Government's subsidy for the network is used to cover the costs incurred by Post Office Ltd in maintaining an uncommercial network rather than specific branches, the funding is not directly attributed to individual post offices.

Post Offices

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices in  (a) Cotswold,  (b) Cheltenham,  (c) Forest of Dean,  (d) Gloucester,  (e) Stroud and  (f) Tewkesbury fall within the access criteria.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The entire network will be subject to the Government's proposals on access criteria.

Renewable Installations

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 815W, on renewable installations, how companies may be placed on the framework as suppliers; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Framework suppliers for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 have been selected, following a competitive tender process carried out in accordance with European Union procurement rules. This process is closed and no further companies may be placed on the framework. The seven framework suppliers may deliver services through sub-contractors. These sub-contractors must be within the microgeneration certification scheme that supports the programme and are selected at the sole discretion of the framework suppliers. Sub-contractors may change through the life of the programme.

Renewable Installations

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 815W, on renewable installations, what process was used to select the companies chosen as suppliers on the framework; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The framework suppliers were chosen through a competition carried out in accordance with European Union procurement rules. A notice was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union calling for "expressions of interest". Out of the 53 companies expressing an interest, 43 were formally invited to tender. From the 28 full bids received, 15 companies were invited to interview before the final seven companies were selected. Framework suppliers were chosen on the basis of those tenders offering best "value for money" evaluated against (i) technical merit (ii) relevant experience (iii) overall price (iv) level of understanding of the challenges involved in the large scale provision of high quality micro generation installations in a relatively short period of time (v) quality management (vi) innovative ideas.

Sage Report

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Sage Report on Cautionary Principles on Power Lines will be published.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	The stakeholder advisory group on extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) (SAGE) is jointly sponsored by the Department of Health, the charity Children with Leukaemia and National Grid plc. The aim of SAGE is to bring together stakeholders to identify and explore the implications for a precautionary approach to ELF EMF and make practical recommendations for precautionary measures. Its terms of reference and ways of working are described on the website www.rkpartnership.co.uk/sage. The SAGE process has been running since 2004 and the website indicates that it is expected to produce its first report this year although no specific date has been set.

SET for Success

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations put forward by Sir Gareth Roberts in his 2002 report SET for success.

Malcolm Wicks: Since 2002 the Government have set out a series of policy commitments and provided funding to realise the recommendations of Sir Gareth Robert's report 'SET for Success'.
	The 10-year science and innovation investment framework emphasised the importance of science, engineering and technology (SET) skills for the future of the UK. This was reinforced by the further programme of commitments in the March 2006 science and innovation investment framework next steps.
	Research Councils are implementing those recommendations in the Roberts report on improving the attractiveness of postgraduate study and careers in higher education. For example, the minimum PhD stipend was raised to £12,000 in the academic year 2005 and to £12,300 in 2006, and has been increased since in line with the GDP deflator; a study has been undertaken to assess the impact of enhanced stipends and salaries on the recruitment and retention of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in key shortage areas; mechanisms have been put in place to support PhDs of longer duration than three years; funding for nearly 800 academic fellowships has been awarded to 79 universities throughout the UK; research councils are working with the higher education sector to enhance personal and professional skills development for research staff based on research grants; and, the concordat for contract workers is also being reviewed.
	In addition to this, initiatives to secure a firm and sustainable pool of qualified people in science have included SETNET (the science, engineering, technology and mathematics network) and the science and engineering ambassadors (SEAs)programme with currently over 13,000 SEAs enthusing young people about science which will increase to 18,000 by March 2008. The UK Resource Centre for Women in SET has been set up and is working with over 70 employers to increase numbers of women in SET, and 38 schools are currently participating in an initiative run by SETNET to increase the participation of ethnic minority school children in science.

Trading Relations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the balance of trade between the UK and Laos was in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Figures are only available for trade in goods on an Overseas Trade Statistics basis. They are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   UK exports of goods to Laos  UK imports of goods from Laos  Difference 
			 2001 2.3 7.1 -4.8 
			 2002 1.6 10.1 -8.5 
			 2003 3.4 9.4 -6.1 
			 2004 1.2 16.1 -14.9 
			 2005 1.6 4.9 -3.4

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what documents his Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the cost was of producing such translations in each of the last five years, broken down by language of translation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In accordance with the Department's 'Race Equality Scheme 2006-2008' DTI documents may be made available in languages for people in the UK who do not speak English to support appropriate access to information, at the Department's discretion and subject to demand. Examples of documents published in other languages include employee rights and fireworks safety information.
	From the information available centrally, languages and costs of such translations include:
	
		
			  Costs (£) 
			  Language  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Bengali 230.00 — — 400.00 (2)450.00 
			 Gujarati 4760.00 — — 400.00 —(2) 
			 Hindi 4760.00 — — 400.00 —(2) 
			 Lithuanian — — — 218.75 —- 
			 Punjabi 230.00 — — 400.00 —(2) 
			 Urdu 230.00 — — 400.00 —(2) 
			 Turkish 70.00 288.75 — — 109.00 
			 Vietnamese — 380.00 — — — 
			 Arabic (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (2)162.67 
			 Chinese (3)— (3)— (3)— (3)— (2)132.67 
			 (1) To end December. (2) Includes costs for other language versions as indicated. (3) Information on costs not available separately. 
		
	
	Other languages, into which some documents have been translated, include Greek, Polish and Portuguese. For other languages, as for Arabic and Chinese prior to the current year, it has not been possible to identify separately, from the information available centrally, the costs of such translation work from work carried out in support of DTI business and UK Trade and Investment overseas activities, without incurring disproportionate costs.
	We also produce employment RTS leaflets to migrant workers in their own language, predominantly Polish and Portuguese.
	I have asked each of the agency chief executives to reply direct to the hon. Member and place copies in the Library of the House.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Policy on, and examples of, services for which translations may be considered are set out in section 3 of the Department's 'Race Equality Scheme 2006-2008', which is available on the DTI website.
	I have asked agency chief executives to reply direct to the hon. Member and place copies in the Library of the House.

Venezuela

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications of Venezuela's rate of inflation for  (a) British investment in Venezuela and  (b) foreign direct investment in the UK from Venezuela; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No such assessment has been made.

DEFENCE

Disabled Submarine Evacuation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2006, what the timetable is for the completion of tests involving live goats of safe procedures for evacuating disabled submarines, with particular reference to the 'safe-to-escape curve'; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: QinetiQ is contracted to carry out the research programme on behalf of MOD until March 2007. As part of the contract renewal process the MOD is currently reviewing the need for, and further scope of, further research involving live goats. This will include an assessment of the completeness of the data set required to construct a "safe-to-escape curve" that will meet our safety requirements. If the review concludes that the remaining uncertainty in our knowledge is unacceptable then the research programme will continue. We will examine alternative approaches to those currently undertaken but will use goats if no acceptable alternative is available.

Iraq

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the cost of  (a) combat and  (b) peacekeeping operations in Iraq in each year since 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Major combat activities commenced on 20 March 2003 and ceased on 1 May 2003 spanning two financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 totalling £2,158 million. All subsequent years are considered to be peacekeeping operations.
	The costs of operations are calculated on a net additional basis and audited figures are published each year in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts. The total of the annual audited figures for the costs of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 was £4,026 million, the sum for 2005-06 being £958 million. An estimated cost of £860 million for 2006-07 was included in the Winter Supplementary Estimates published in November. Final figures will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006-07.

Japanese Internment

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to pay the other claims for compensation to civilians interned by the Japanese associated with the class action against his Department won by Mrs. Elias.

Derek Twigg: Mrs. Elias was awarded damages by the Court to compensate her for injury to her feelings caused by having been discriminated against on the grounds of her national origins when her claim for an award from the Ex-Gratia Payment Scheme for Far East Prisoners of War and civilian internees was rejected under the birthlink criterion. To date, the Ministry of Defence has received eight other claims for damages for injury to feelings from individuals whose claims under the scheme were also rejected on birthlink grounds and who claim to have been discriminated against on the grounds of their national origins. These claims are currently the subject of discussion between the Department and those representing the claimants.
	The Ministry of Defence is prepared to consider claims for compensation for injury to feelings resulting from discrimination on national origins grounds from any person whose claim was rejected on birthlink grounds and who, like Mrs. Elias, was of non-UK national origins.
	Claimants who think that they are entitled to compensation on the same basis as Mrs. Elias should write to the Veterans Agency setting out the basis on which they consider themselves to be a person of non-UK national origins or otherwise entitled to make a claim for indirect discrimination under the Race Relations Act 1976.

M85 Sub-munitions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has evaluated on the failure rate of M85 sub-munitions; and if he will change the classification of L20A1 munitions from not dumb.

Adam Ingram: All munitions undergo rigorous and comprehensive testing prior to entering service and are subject to regular in-service trials once they become part of the UK stockpile.
	The trials indicate that the current failure rate of the M85 remains within acceptable service bounds, although we continue to explore ways of reducing this failure rate further, in partnership with the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions.
	The M85 sub-munition is fitted with a self-destruct mechanism, and therefore the L20A1 shell which contains M85 sub-munitions is not regarded by the UK as being a 'dumb cluster munition'. As a result, we have no current plans to change its classification.

Military Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) maximum and  (b) normal personnel carrying capacity is of the Panther vehicle after Bowman has been fitted.

Adam Ingram: Panther is being procured as an armoured Command and Liaison Vehicle. It has been designed to be operated with a minimum crew of two and a maximum of four dependent upon the role and hence so is the Bowman fit.

RAF Halton: Training

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits were trained by the  (a) RAF Recruit Training Squadron and  (b) Airmen's Command Squadron at RAF Halton in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows the student take-up for Recruit Training Squadron (RTS) and Airman's Command Squadron (ACS) courses at RAF Halton from financial year 2001-02 to date.
	
		
			   Financial year 
			  Training area  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Recruit Training Squadron 3,120 3,640 3,310 1,600 1,000 
			 Airman's Command Squadron 2,630 2,240 2,810 4,030 2,385 
			 Total Students 5,750 5,880 6,120 5,630 3,380 
			  Notes: 1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.

RAF Halton: Training

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) civilians and  (b) military personnel comprise the (i) RAF Recruit Training Squadron and (ii) Airmen's Command Squadron at RAF Halton.

Derek Twigg: The current strength figures for permanent staff are as follows:
	
		
			  Recruit Training Squadron (RTS) 
			   Number 
			 Military 65 
			 Civilian (1)— 
		
	
	
		
			  Airmen's Command Squadron (ACS) 
			   Number 
			 Military 55 
			 Civilian (1)— 
			 (1 )Denotes numbers less than 5 but not 0.  Note: All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

RAF Halton: Training

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) civilians and  (b) military personnel are employed in delivering logistics training to students at RAF Halton.

Derek Twigg: Logistics training at RAF Halton is conducted by two elements of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration (DCLPA); the Supply and Movements Training Wing (SMTW)(1) and Catering Training Squadron (CTS)(2).
	(1 )SMTW is part of the Defence Logistics and Supply School, which is part of the DCLPA. It also has elements at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Cranwell.
	(2 )CTS is part of the Defence Food Services School (DFSS), which is also part of the DCLPA.
	The current strength figures for permanent staff are:
	
		
			   Military  Civilian 
			 Supply and Movements Training Wing 35 15 
			 Catering Training Squadron 25 (1)— 
			 (1) Less than 5 but not 0.  Note: All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.

RAF Halton: Training

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many students received logistics training at RAF Halton in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: Logistics training at RAF Halton is conducted by two elements of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration (DCLPA); the Supply and Movements Training Wing (SMTW)(1) and Catering Training Squadron (CTS)(2). SMTW provides initial professional logistics training for RAF officers and airmen, as well as advanced and specialist supply training for both RAF and other service and civilian personnel. Similarly, CTS provides initial and advanced catering and catering accounting training for RAF officers and airmen and, exceptionally, the other armed services. Both units also provide training for international students and contractors employees, where capacity permits.
	The following table shows the total student take-up for logistics training courses at RAF Halton from financial year 2001-02 to date.
	(1) SMTW is part of the Defence Logistics and Supply School, which is part of the DCLPA. It also has elements at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Cranwell.
	(2) CTS is part of the Defence Food Services School (DFSS), which is also part of the DCLPA.
	
		
			  Training area  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 DCLPA—Supply and Movements Training Wing (Halton) 795 1,040 1,015 1,030 1,055 
			 DCLPA—Catering Training Squadron 240 345 335 285 295 
			 Total Students 1,035 1,385 1,350 1,315 1,350 
			  Notes: 1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.

Service Personnel

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many active service personnel come from Swansea East.

Derek Twigg: The location of recruitment and residence of armed forces personnel is not held centrally in databases of individual records and it is therefore not possible to give figures by either location of recruitment or place of residence.

Territorial Army

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum number of training days is with pay allowed which are allocated for Territorial Army personnel, broken down by battalion; and whether this number varies.

Derek Twigg: There is no upper limit on the number of training days placed on any Territorial Army (TA) officer or soldier. We ensure that all TA officers and soldiers are allocated sufficient training days to meet an annual minimum training requirement in accordance with current TA regulations. Once trained, TA personnel become eligible for a training bounty. The number of training days consumed by a unit in any given year will vary in accordance with its strength and its place in the operational cycle.

Tour Intervals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average tour intervals were for each of the units deployed as part of TELIC 9.

Des Browne: Average tour intervals for formed Army units deployed on Op TELIC 9 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Ser  Unit  Previous Deployment  Tour interval 
			 1 HQ and Sigs Sqn 19Lt Bde TELIC 2 June to October 2003 36 months 
			 2 QRL TELIC 4 May to October 2004 24 months 
			 3 2 LANCS TELIC 2 July to October 2003 36 months 
			 4 1 YORKS OCULUS (BOSNIA) April to September 2004 25 months 
			 5 2 RIFLES Northern Ireland March to September 2004 31 months 
			 6 3 MERCIAN TELIC 6 May to October 2005 12 months 
			 7 3 RIFLES Northern Ireland September 2004 to March 2005 19 months 
			 8 40 Regt RA TOSCA (Cyprus) June to September 2004 25 months 
			 9 38Engr Regt TELIC 2 July to October 2003 36 months 
			 10 19 CSS Bn 1 x Sqn deployment; March to October 2003 and 1 x Sqn deployment; November 2003 to April 2004 36 months and 30 months respectively 
		
	
	RAF units operate differently from those of the Army. While a unit might be deployed for four months, RAF personnel can rotate through the unit rather than remain with it throughout. Therefore unit and personnel tour intervals are not necessarily the same.
	
		
			  Unit RAF unit  Previous deployment  Tour interval between previous and current deployment 
			 1 Force Protection Wing TELIC May to September 2005 Eight months 
			 3 Sqn RAF Regiment Northern Ireland until February 2006 four months

TRANSPORT

Airline Passengers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Glasgow airport and  (a) London Gatwick,  (b) London Stansted and  (c) Luton airport in the last 12 months, broken down by economy and business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Gatwick, London Stansted and Luton airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number (nearest thousand) 
			   Class 
			  Glasgow to/from:  Business( 1)  Economy( 2)  Other( 3)  Total 
			 London Gatwick 20,000 324,000 28,000 373,000 
			 London Stansted  422,000 12,000 435,000 
			 Luton  442,000 8,000 451,000 
			 Total passengers 20,000 1,188,000 48,000 1,259,000 
			 (1) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (2) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (3) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA passenger survey (Glasgow airport survey, 2005)

Airline Passengers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport in the last 12 months, broken down by economy and business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Prestwick airport and London Stansted airport in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Prestwick to/from Stansted 
			  Class  Number (nearest thousand) 
			 Business(1) 1,000 
			 Economy(2) 489,000 
			 Other(3) 7,000 
			 Total passengers 497,000 
			 (1) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (2) Includes economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (3) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA passenger survey (Prestwick airport survey, 2005)

Airport Runway Capacity

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government expect to decide on the provision of extra runway capacity at the three main London airports owned by the successor company to BAA.

Gillian Merron: The White Paper The Future of Air Transport, published in December 2003, sets out the Government's support for the development of two new runways in the south-east. This approach is reiterated in the Progress Report on the White Paper published in December 2006. The Government support the development of a second runway at Stansted Airport, and a third runway at Heathrow, provided that stringent environmental conditions can be met.
	We expect BAA to make a planning application for a second runway at Stansted later this year. In addition, we expect to consult this year on further expansion of Heathrow in the light of the outputs of environmental assessment work. Following the outcome of the consultation, it will, however, be for BAA, as the airport operator, to bring forward any development proposals for Heathrow for consideration through the planning system in the normal way.

Motorway

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway there are in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the number of miles of motorway in  (a) Germany,  (b) France and  (c) the USA.

Stephen Ladyman: The lengths of motorways in the UK and other countries requested are published in Table 10.2 of 'Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006'. A copy of this report, published on 2 November 2006, was placed in the House of Commons Library and is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transstats_613483.pdf

MSC Napoli

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  who authorised the salvage operation for the MSC Napoli; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  who directed the MSC Napoli away from Cherbourg and to a British port when her condition was first reported to coastguards.

Stephen Ladyman: In accordance with the Anglo-French Joint Maritime Contingency Plan (Mancheplan), the Secretary of State's representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP) and the French maritime authorities made an on-scene assessment of the condition of the MSC Napoli, and the French authorities assessed a number of possible locations for a place of refuge in French waters. The conclusion arising out of these assessments was that the least environmentally risky option was to tow the vessel to a place of refuge in UK waters. The south coast of England provided better options for a place of refuge than the French coast, where there were no suitable places of refuge within reasonable distance.

MSC Napoli

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide financial assistance for local authorities that incur costs as a consequence of the pollution caused by the beaching of the MSC Napoli.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not provide financial assistance for local authorities that incur costs as a consequence of pollution from ships. Local authorities and others who have incurred costs as a result of pollution from a ship-source pollution incident may seek to recover their costs by lodging a claim in court in accordance with the domestic law which applies in the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 (LLMC).

Olympic Park

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will urgently convene a meeting of the prospective funding partners for the lock and water-control structure on the Bow Back Rivers required to allow water freight access to the Olympic Park site in order to secure agreement that it will be built; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: British Waterways is leading on this project and convened a meeting of the major funding partners last week. Discussions are continuing.
	The Department has offered to contribute to the costs of the lock through the Freight Facilities Grant scheme. Our contribution is based on the environmental, congestion and safety benefits expected to be achieved by the transfer of Olympic construction traffic from road to water.

Petrol Duty

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much tax the Government receives from 1 litre of petrol sold for 90 pence at the pump.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on current and historic duty rates for petrol and diesel can be found in Table 4 of the HM Revenue and Customs 'Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin', which can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullhydro
	The standard rate of VAT, 17.5 per cent., is charged on main road fuels.

Seat Belts

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) fatalities and  (b) casualties there were in road crashes in each of the last five years where failure to wear a seat belt was recorded as a contributory factor to the injuries caused.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

Taxis: Disabled People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the accessibility of taxis for disabled people.

Gillian Merron: The Government recognise the vital role taxis play in the transportation of disabled people, and is committed to bringing forward requirements for accessible taxis. Consideration is currently being given as to how best this might be achieved.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members have served  (a) two,  (b) three,  (c) four,  (d) five,  (e) six,  (f) seven and  (g) eight or more terms of office.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State, the details of which are as follows:
	 (a) Four
	 (b) Nine
	 (c) One
	 (d) One
	 (e) Nil
	 (f) Nil
	 (g) One

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members were  (a) nominated or  (b) appointed by trade unions, broken down by trust port.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State. Of these, none are made by nomination or directly by trade unions, although one appointment to the Milford Haven Port Authority is made, as set out in the Milford Haven Port Authority Act 2002, after consultation with such persons appearing to the Secretary of State to be representative of organised labour in Wales.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of each trust port board are nominated by local authorities.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only for those appointments made by the Secretary of State. Of these, none are made by nomination by local authorities, although two appointments to the Milford Haven Port Authority are made, as set out in the Milford Haven Port Authority Act 2002, after consultation with Pembrokeshire county council.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trust port board members there are.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not held centrally by the Department. Each of the 51 trust ports in England and Wales is governed by its own local legislation which stipulates the number of board members.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps  (a) local authorities and  (b) trust ports are required to take to ensure that appointments of councillors to trust board boards are made through transparent and competitive process.

Stephen Ladyman: Our guidance issued to Trust Ports, Modernising Trust Ports  A Guide to Good Governance, did not lay down any additional regulatory requirements in respect of appointments of local authority councillors. It set out a basic set of standards around which individual ports could build an appointment process tailored to their specific requirements.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of the plans received from trust ports for achieving compliance with the corporate governance as required by Modernising Trust Ports.

Stephen Ladyman: Yes. The plans, which will need collating, will be placed in the Library by mid February.

Vehicles

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars are registered in the UK; and what estimate he has made of numbers of registered cars in  (a) Germany,  (b) France and  (c) the USA.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of licensed cars in the UK and the other countries requested is published in Table 10.3 of 'Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006'. A copy of this report, published on 2 November 2006, was placed in the House of Commons Library and it is also available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dfttranstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transtats_613483.pdf

Vessels in Distress

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on responding to vessels in international waters requesting assistance from UK coastguards.

Stephen Ladyman: In accordance with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR), 1979, the UK has declared a maritime SAR region whichin broad termscovers half the North and Irish seas, half the English channel, and much of the north eastern Atlantic. This includes large areas of international waters. The UK has specific bilateral agreements with neighbouring states about mutual support in SAR incidents. HM Coastguard co-ordinates the response to civil maritime emergencies within this region and will also support any SAR incident internationally if requested.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will investigate complaints of abuse of conscript recruits by non-commissioned officers in the Bermuda Regiment; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment has confirmed that he has not received any complaints of abuse.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the practice requiring conscript recruits in the Bermuda Regiment to urinate in plastic bags after 11pm was ended; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: It has never been the practice for Bermuda Regiment recruits to be required to urinate in plastic bags.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Governor of Burmuda will authorise a stay of enforcing the conscription of those recruits to the Bermuda Regiment who are seeking judicial review of their conscription until the review has been determined in the courts; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: On 19 January, Counsel for the Crown undertook to the Supreme Court of Bermuda that no action would be taken against the plaintiffs pending resolution of the matters before the Court.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why it is necessary for a section commander to escort conscript recruits to the Bermuda Regiment to the toilets after 11pm; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Bermuda Regiment has a lights out policy during recruit camp in order to enable recruits to sleep undisturbed between the hours of 11pm and 5.45am. Should a recruit need to use the toilet during these hours, he is escorted to the ablution block by his section commander. This ensures the security of sensitive camp areas, ensures that the section commander is accountable for his recruits and helps to ensure the safety of the recruit.

China

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to China on  (a) China's ratification of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,  (b) the release of dissidents jailed for involvement in the 1989 demonstration at Tiananmen Square and  (c) the re-education through labour system of imprisonment without trial.

Ian McCartney: The Government regularly raise human rights issues with the Chinese Government. I urged China to commit itself to a timetable for International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratification, and give renewed impetus to reform of all forms of administrative detention, including re-education through labour, in a letter to the Chinese ambassador in August 2006. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised ICCPR ratification with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in September 2006. These issues were also raised at the last rounds of the UK- and EU-China Human Rights Dialogues, and will be covered at the next round of our bilateral Dialogue in February. The cases of the remaining Tiananmen dissidents were raised at the last round of the EU-China Dialogue in October 2006, and bilaterally through previous rounds of the UK-China Dialogue.

Constitution for Europe

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on a referendum on the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the right hon. Member to the statement by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 20 April 2004,  Official Report, columns 155-157.
	The treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, would only be ratified after a referendum.

EU Expenditure

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the legal base is for budgeted EU expenditure of 14,000,000 in 2007 for European Union special representatives.

Geoff Hoon: Article 18(5) of the Treaty on European Union provides the legal base for the appointment of EU Special Representatives by the Council. Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Joint Actions (Articles 14,18(5) and 23, Treaty on European Union) provide the legal base for the mandates of the EU Special Representatives themselves and their expenditure against the CFSP Budget.
	The Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament agreed in December 2006 that 14,000,000 should be committed to the EU Special Representatives sub-heading of the 2007 European Community Budget.

European Constitution

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are proposals that she would adopt from the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe without a referendum.

Geoff Hoon: The Government's decision to recommend holding a referendum on the draft treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was set out in the statement by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 20 April 2004,  Official Report, columns 155-157).
	The Government make no presumption, at this stage, regarding the outcome of forthcoming discussions on the future of the constitutional treaty.

European Constitution

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which parts of the draft treaty establishing a constitution for Europe require a consent by voters in a referendum before adoption.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) on 14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1294W.

European Security and Defence Identity

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's objectives in respect of the European Security and Defence Identity.

Geoff Hoon: The European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) was created in 1996 and put in place arrangements for the EU, through the Western European Union (WEU), to access NATO assets for use in WEU-led operations. ESDI was superseded by the establishment of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in June 1999.
	The UK is a strong supporter of ESDP. Through its ESDP missions, the EU is contributing to conflict prevention, conflict resolution and global security. UK objectives for ESDP are for it to be 'active, capable and coherent', in line with the recommendations of the European Security Strategy. We want ESDP to contribute to improved civilian and military European capabilities and complement NATO. We also want to see greater co-ordination between ESDP missions and other actors.

North Korea: Six Party Talks

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the prospects of the Six Party talks on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea resuming; and what representations she has made to her counterpart in China on the talks.

Ian McCartney: Although the UK is not a member of the Six Party Talks (6PT), we fully support the process. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan on 16-17 January in Berlin. The aim of the meeting was to persuade North Korea to make tangible progress towards implementing the Joint Declaration of 19 September 2005 and return to the 6PT. We are hopeful that the talks may resume in the next few weeks. The Government remains in regular contact with the Chinese Government, including through our embassy in Beijing.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of her Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently makes no significant use of open source software, either in existing systems or in those under development.
	The FCO procures IT to obtain the best value for money. In doing this we would certainly consider proposals based on open source solutions, but we have no specific objective to increase our use of open source software.

Overseas Territories

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether United Kingdom equality and anti-discrimination legislation extends an obligation of compliance to her Department in its work within overseas territories among staff and employees who are within the responsibility of  (a) the Governor and  (b) officials of her Department.

Geoff Hoon: Whether United Kingdom (UK) equality and anti-discrimination legislation would apply to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) UK-based staff serving in the Governor's office in the British overseas territories is a matter for the UK judicial authorities to decide. However, as a matter of policy, the FCO would seek to ensure that the principles underlying this legislation would be applied in the management of those staff. Whether UK legislation would apply to locally engaged staff working in the Governor's office would depend on a number of factors and would need to be assessed in each case. Local (that is, territory) legislation would normally apply to anyone not working in the Governor's office.

Shanghai Trade Expo

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources she has allocated to support for the Shanghai Trade Expo in 2010; which Government post will represent the UK; and which UK companies have signed up to this event.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), UK Trade and Investment and Department of Trade and Industry have collectively allocated 3.5 million towards the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Several other Government Departments, the English regions and the devolved administrations are actively considering their participation in this project. Although this is not a trade fair, a number of leading UK companies are in the frame for sponsorship (none have formally signed up to date). As with previous Expos, co-ordinating UK participation in Shanghai is an FCO lead. The Consulate-General in Shanghai will take the leading role in representing the UK during this six-month event.

South East Asia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations.

Ian McCartney: The UK has a history of strong relations with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, both bilaterally and in multilateral forums. We have no formal relations with the ASEAN organisation. We conduct our formal relations through the EU, via the EU ASEAN dialogue, the Asia-Europe meeting and the ASEAN regional forum.
	I had a constructive meeting with the ASEAN Secretary-General in London on 4 December 2006. I have also met the ASEAN London committee, ASEAN ambassadors and high commissioners, most recently in September 2006. Such meetings provide an opportunity to raise a range of issues, including our relations with ASEAN and with individual ASEAN members.

Syria and Iraq

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress that the Syrian Government have made over the last 12 months in sealing the border with Iraq.

Kim Howells: Syria has sought to improve security on the border with Iraq in recent months. The Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid Mu'allem, visited Iraq on 19 November 2006 for talks, including on security, and the two countries reopened embassies in December 2006. A high level Iraqi delegation visited Syria from 15-18 December 2006, which resulted in Ministers signing a number of Memorandums of Understanding. The decision was also taken during these meetings to establish joint committees on detainees, borders and terrorism/intelligence co-operation. President Talabani of Iraq paid a state visit to Syria from 14 until 20 January, during which he is understood to have held extensive discussions, including on security. As I said in the House on 16 January 2007,  Official Report, column 651,
	there have been some very welcome moves recently. The Syrians are setting up an embassy in Baghdad, and the Iraqis have a reciprocal arrangement in Damascus. It is very good news that the two countries are establishing stronger diplomatic links: that must be seen as a positive development.
	We continue to call on the Syrians to do more to control facilitation networks in Syria.

Thailand

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential effect on  (a) stability in Thailand and  (b) the Buddhist minority in Thailand of the actions of the Pattani Fighters.

Ian McCartney: A group calling itself the Pattani Fighters has claimed responsibility for the murder of two rubber plantation workers in Yala province in southern Thailand on 13 January. This is the first time a group by this name has claimed responsibility for carrying out an attack. We have not been able to assess the credibility of its claim. Since the current insurgency in southern Thailand began in January 2004, approximately 1,800 people, both Buddhists and Muslims, have been killed in the violence.

PRIME MINISTER

Government Reorganisation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what the estimated cost is of each reorganisation of Government Departments since 1997.

Tony Blair: The cost of any machinery of Government changes is met by relevant Departments within existing budgets.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Durham (Hilary Armstrong) today.

US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement

Willie Rennie: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has  (a) made recent representations to and  (b) received recent representations from the President of the United States on the maintenance of the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement.

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister what advice he has received on renewing Trident; from whom he has received advice; and if he will place copies of the advice in the Library.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Members to the written ministerial statement I made on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 141WS.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Mental Illness: Employment

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures he is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) his Department and  (b) public-sector bodies for whom he has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

Gareth Thomas: Under the Disability Equality Duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, DFID is required to publish and implement a Disability Equality Scheme. This is a plan setting out how we will carry out the Disability Equality Duty, monitor, and report on progress. In particular this includes our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
	DFID has duties under the employment provisions in part 2 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 not to discriminate against, and to make reasonable adjustments for, disabled job applicants and employees.
	For mental health specifically, DFID has taken or will be taking the following actions:
	we ran a mental health awareness raising seminar in October 2006 and our Director of Human Resources (HR) will follow this up with an article on 'living with depression';
	we have developed a Mental Health Communication Strategy, which outlines the various promotional activities we have planned, including a poster campaign highlighting the role of our welfare and counselling services;
	we are currently undertaking a full analysis of barriers in our recruitment programme and this will take account of the needs of people with a mental illness;
	HR Division is taking steps to ensure the process for making reasonable adjustments is more robust and consistent, as well as more effective at meeting the needs of disabled staff; and
	we carried out a stress Audit in 2004, and as a result, DFID's welfare and counselling service now offer seminars for staff and managers on 'Managing Work/Life Balance under pressure', as well as promoting the use of 'Askwell', an interactive health website that gives advice on many issues, including stress.
	DFID is responsible for 21 appointments to three non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs):
	Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK
	Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board
	Overseas Service Pensions Scheme Advisory Board
	Only the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission is currently active. DFID is committed to the Government's agenda for improving diversity on the boards of public bodies. To this end, and to encourage applications for all appointments from women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds and disabled people, we advertise in a range of publications and ensure that each advertisment makes it clear that applications are welcome from all parts of the community.

Microfinance Projects

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on microfinance projects in each of the last five years; and how much is planned to be spent over the next five years.

Gareth Thomas: The UK's 2006 White Paper on International Development commits us to tackling barriers to access to markets and financial services, and supporting microfinance initiatives in partnership with banks and regulators.
	For DFID, microfinance is part of a broader strategy to promote stronger and more inclusive financial sectors. In addition to programmes that have microfinance as the central activity, DFID supports programmes to improve access to finance for poor people where microfinance is just one component. These programmes aim to encourage the entry of financial institutions into the microfinance sector and assist Governments to improve the regulatory environment for financial institutions to serve the poor.
	In the last three financial years (not including the present year) DFID spent the following on microfinance and financial sector projects.
	
		
			  April to March:   million 
			 2003-04 40 
			 2004-05 23 
			 2005-06 23 
		
	
	The totals for the years preceding this were not disaggregated and calculating this now would involve a disproportionate cost. In total, DFID has spent over 165 million to support microfinance and financial sector projects and had committed 140 million more at 31 October 2006.
	DFID continues to design and implement new programmes which will improve access to finance. Since the last review of commitments in October, DFID has approved a 9.3 million, five-year financial sector development programme in Nigeria and a 32.8 million seven-year PROSPER programme in Bangladesh, which includes capacity building for microfinance institutions.
	A number of the international agencies that DFID supports are active in promoting microfinance and financial sector development. The World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and several regional development banks all provide significant funding or technical assistance in these areas. We do not have the necessary level of disaggregation of figures to provide a figure for the total spent on microfinance and financial sector development.
	DFID has also been successful in leveraging financing from the private sector. For example, DFID provided a first-loss facility of 820,000 via the Financial Deepening Challenge Fund that generated a total fund of 80.6 million from 13 institutional investors for the Deutsche Bank Community Microfinance Facility.

Orangutan Habitat

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and  (b) others on the destruction of the habitat of the orangutan due to the increased demand for palm oil in the UK.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	I have had no recent discussion with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry or others on this issue. Following my discussions with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Malaysia in June last year, I reported to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about the loss of habitat to oil palm in that country.
	In the UK sustainable development strategy, Securing the Future (http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/ publications/uk-strategy/uk-strategy-2005.htm) we make clear that the Government are very conscious that increasing consumption of goods and services in the UK can have environmental and social consequences overseas. We believe that one of the best ways to deliver more sustainable patterns of consumption and production is through effective partnerships between all stakeholder groups.
	The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a good example of this approach, involving palm oil growers, environmental organisations, and manufacturers and retailers of products containing palm oil in the development of criteria for more sustainable palm oil production. RSPO are running a number of practical projects to facilitate the implementation of sustainable best practice. More information about the Round Table is available at www.sustainable-palmoil.org

HOME DEPARTMENT

101 Hotline

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which partnerships are in Wave 2 of the national 101 programme; and which are in Wave 3;
	(2)  what the planned date is for national coverage of the 101 Hotline;
	(3)  what date has been set to sign funding agreements between his Department and the Wave 2 101 Partnerships.

Tony McNulty: Evaluation and assessment of the introduction of the Single Non-Emergency Number, 101, in the five Wave 1 Partnership areas are currently ongoing. Plans for future Programme development beyond Wave 1 Partnership areas will depend on the outcome of this evaluation and assessment, including optimum costs and benefits, to be completed in autumn 2007.

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many acceptable behaviour contracts were issued in  (a) England,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) West Bromwich East in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Data on numbers of acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) are not collected by the Home Office as they are voluntary agreements and therefore not suitable for central data collection.
	However, three annual surveys carried out by the Home Office of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) indicated that a total of 18,349 ABCs were made in England and Wales between October 2003 and September 2006.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in  (a) Morecambe and Lunesdale,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in 2006.

Tony McNulty: Antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) data are currently available up to 31 December 2005. A table giving the number of ASBOs issued annually, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by the local government authority area in which prohibitions have been imposed, up to 31 December 2005 (latest available), can be found on the Crime Reduction website at: www.crimereduction.gov.uk. ASBO data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Cautions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prosecutions were dropped in  (a) Essex police force area,  (b) Southend police area and  (c) England and Wales as a result of the alleged offender not being cautioned by the arresting officer before being (i) questioned and (ii) a written statement being taken in each of the last five years for which information is available; what steps he (A) has taken and (B) plans to take to remind police officers of the requirement to caution an alleged offender before questioning or taking a written statement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  under what legislation an offender is required to be cautioned by the arresting officer before  (a) being questioned about an alleged offence and  (b) required to make a written statement; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available as the individual circumstances of prosecutions are not centrally collected on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	Powers relating to the conduct of police investigations are governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, and the accompanying Codes of Practice. The Code of Practice for the Detention, Treatment and Questioning of Persons by Police Officers (PACE Code C), the Code of Practice on Audio Recording Interviews with Suspects (PACE Code E) and the Code of Practice on Visual Recording with Sound of Interviews with Suspects (PACE Code F) provide clear guidance to the police on the requirements for cautioning suspects in relation to interviews and written statements and formally recording the giving of the caution. The PACE codes are subject to regular review and revision. PACE Code C was last revised in July 2006 and PACE Codes E and F were last revised in January 2006.

Community Support Officer

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual costs are of recruiting a community support officer including training, equipment, wages and pensions  (a) for their first year of service and  (b) for subsequent years; and what the corresponding costs are for a police constable.

Tony McNulty: The following table shows the current basic salary of a police constable on commencing service, on completing initial training and in successive years. There is no corresponding scale showing police community support officers (PCSO) salaries, which are determined by the respective police authorities, and are not routinely collected centrally. Data on the other annual costs of recruiting, training and maintaining a PCSO or a police constable in the first and other years of service are not centrally held.
	
		
			  Police constable pay from 1 September 2006 
			  Amount () 
			 On commencing service 21,009 
			 On completion of initial training 23,454 
			 Pay point 2 24,813 
			 Pay point 3 26,331 
			 Pay point 4 27,159 
			 Pay point 5 28,029 
			 Pay point 6 28,830 
			 Pay point 7 29,544 
			 Pay point 8 30,489 
			 Pay point 9 32,334 
			 Pay point 10 32,985

Criminal Record Checks

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been cleared by a Criminal Records Bureau check and subsequently found to have committed an offence which should have been disclosed in that check in each of the last nine years.

Joan Ryan: The latest available information was set out in the Home Secretary's statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13 January.

Criminal Record Checks

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal record checks are carried out on  (a) mini-cab drivers and  (b) school assistants from non-EU countries; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 17 January 2007
	Recent events have made clear the complexity of the issues faced across Government and beyond. This is not helped by the differences in systems, procedures and criteria for recording and using for public protection information about criminality in this country and outside the UK. The Home Secretary has therefore instigated a Government-wide review of the way in which such information is shared and used.

Drug Intervention Programme

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget is for the Drug Intervention Programme for 2007-08; and what the percentage change is since the 2006-07 Budget.

Tony McNulty: Expenditure proposals for 2007-08 remain under review and final decisions will be taken shortly.

Fireworks Offences: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fines were issued for fireworks offences in Bassetlaw in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Vernon Coaker: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform does not hold information on the number of fines issued in Bassetlaw as data is not held to that level of detail. However, there were no fines issued in 2005 in the whole of the Nottinghamshire police force area (of which Bassetlaw is a part) for fireworks offences. Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	In addition, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) Scheme was introduced in England and Wales in 2004. Under the scheme, the police can issue an 80 fixed penalty for a number of fireworks offences under the Explosives Act 1875 and Fireworks Act 2003. The offence of throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare (Explosives Act) came into force in August 2002: the offences of breach of the fireworks curfew, possession of category 4 fireworks, and possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework (Fireworks Act) were added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. The following table shows the number of PNDs that were issued in the Nottinghamshire police force area for 2005 and for January to June 2006 (provisional). We are unable to give the number of PNDs issued in Bassetlaw during the aforementioned period, as data are not collected to that level of detail.
	
		
			  Persons issued with penalty notices for disorder for all fireworks offences, in the Nottinghamshire police force area, 2005 and January to June 2006( 1, 2) 
			  Number 
			  Offence  2005  2006( 2) 
			 Throwing fireworks 7 1 
			 Breach of fireworks curfew 0 0 
			 Possession of category 4 fireworks 0 0 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of an adult firework 4 0 
			 Total 11 1 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) January to June 2006 data are provisional.

Foreign National Criminals

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to incorporate in Criminal Records Bureau checks data relating to foreign nationals now working in the UK in occupations in contact with vulnerable groups concerning past convictions committed abroad involving serious offences against the person.

Joan Ryan: Recent events have made clear the complexity of the issues faced across Government and beyond. This is not helped by the differences in systems, procedures and criteria for recording and using for public protection information about criminality in this country and outside the UK. The Home Secretary has therefore instigated a Government wide review of the way in which such information is shared and used.

Hizb ut-Tahir

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many years the group Hizb ut-Tahir has been visibly active in the UK.

Tony McNulty: It is normal Home Office policy not to comment on groups which may or may not be added to the list of proscribed organisations.

HMIC Budget

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual budget is of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary; and how many members of staff it employs.

Tony McNulty: For the year 2006-07 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has an annual budget of 10.881 million. As an organisation, HMIC has a total of 144 staff working in it; however, it is not an employer in its own right. Of the 144, 71 are employed by the Home Office, six are Crown appointments and 67 are seconded from the police service or other Government Departments.

Homeland Security Department

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has considered the creation of a new Department for Homeland Security; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the statement that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made in the House on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 550WS. Our counter-terrorist campaign will need to be seamless, integrated, politically driven, forward-thinking and dynamic. The conclusions of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's counter-terrorism review which considered how best to achieve this are with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. We shall keep the House informed of the outcome of the review when appropriate.

Internet Crime

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds his Department allocated to deal with internet crime in each year since 2001.

Vernon Coaker: Specific funding of 25 million was provided for e-crime over the SR2000 period for 2001-02 to 2003-04. Part of these funds were used to establish the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHCTU) in the then National Crime Squad, as well as transitional funding for computer forensic officers in forces. Funding for e-crime work is now incorporated in the baseline of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the new SOCA e-crime Directorate is 20 per cent. bigger than the precursor NHTCU. In addition, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre has been set up with3.5 million core funding from the Home Office plus additional resources provided by industry and NGO's.
	Funding for forensic officers in forces was extended beyond the SR2000 period to 2004-05, 2005-06 and funding of 1.1 million in 2006-07.

Mounted Police

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales have mounted sections; and how many horses each such force has.

Tony McNulty: 14 forces currently have mounted sections as follows:
	
		
			   Number of horses 
			 Avon and Somerset 11 
			 City of London 9 
			 Cleveland 9 
			 Greater Manchester 37 
			 Humberside 7 
			 Lancashire 18 
			 Merseyside 21 
			 Metropolitan Police Service 120 
			 Northumbria 10 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 
			 South Wales 9 
			 South Yorkshire 16 
			 Thames Valley police 10 
			 West Yorkshire 21

Murder and Manslaughter

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murder and manslaughter victims have been killed by assailants previously convicted of murder or manslaughter in the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 16 January 2007
	Available data relate to offences recorded as homicide between 1994 and 2004-05. In that period a total of 24 persons in England and Wales are known to have been killed by persons who had been previously convicted of murder or manslaughter in England and Wales.

Police

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were involved in the forced return of three coaches from Lechlade to London on 22 March; and what the costs of the operation were.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the chief constable of Gloucestershire.

Police

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new police reporting forms have been introduced nationally since 1997.

Tony McNulty: This information is not kept centrally.

Police

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police reporting forms his Department has made obsolete since 1997.

Tony McNulty: We have worked closely with police forces in eliminating nearly 9,000 forms nationally. Details of the forms made obsolete by individual forces are not held centrally. We remain committed to reducing the administrative burdens and eliminating the unnecessary paperwork and inefficient working practices that keep officers off the streets.

Police: Processed Paperwork

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of paperwork processed by police forces is sent abroad for secondary processing by organisations or companies prior to return.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for individual police forces and this information is not kept centrally.

Strategic Risk Registers: Police

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the Strategic Risk Register for each police force for which such a register has been produced; and if he will make a statement on the preparation of such registers.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The assessment and management of risk is an operational matter for chief constables and the information requested is not held by the Home Office. The way in which individual forces identify and manage risk may form one element in their assessment by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Minister for Local Government will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 21 November 2006 on job losses and budget cuts at Worcestershire county council.

Phil Woolas: I have now replied to the hon. Member's letter. I apologise for the delay in responding.

Former Airfields

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning guidelines exist in relation to land formerly used as airfields.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport (PPG13), published in 2001, sets out the national planning policy framework for transport, including advice on how local planning authorities need to take account of aviation interests in preparing local plan policies and determining planning applications. In particular, PPG13 states that local authorities should
	identify and where appropriate protect sites and surface access routes, both existing and potential (including disused sites), which could help to enhance aviation infrastructure serving the regional and local area; and
	avoid development at or close to an airport or airfield development that would be incompatible with any existing or potential aviation operations.

GLA Precept

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London regarding the Greater London Authority precept for 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: The Government have made clear that they expect the council tax increase in England to be less than 5 per cent. in 2007-08. We have had no discussions with the Mayor of London about the Greater London Authority precept increase for 2007-08.

Holocaust

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with colleagues in other Departments on how awareness of holocaust issues can promote community cohesion.

Phil Woolas: My Department is determined to ensure that the genocide committed during the Holocaust is not forgotten, is commemorated with dignity and status, and is communicated to future generations. We provide 500,000 annual funding to the Holocaust Memorial Day charitable trust. We recognise that education has a key role to play in tackling contemporary issues of prejudice, racism and religious intolerance. Both my Department and the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) support the annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, including through the production of free educational resources. The Secretary of State will be attending the UK Holocaust memorial event on 28 January.

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for the extension of the home information pack area trials; and what criteria will be used to identify locations for such extension.

Yvette Cooper: We are intending to expand the HIP area trials to North West Wales (Gwynedd, Conwy and Anglesey ) and London (Southwark) to ensure the widest range of types of housing market are involved in the area trials to gain the broadest possible experience in advance of 1 June 2007. We will be announcing further details regarding these trials shortly.

Housing

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities have submitted discretionary schemes to license houses in multiple occupancy which do not fall within the mandatory definition.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The Department has received no applications from local authorities wishing to establish discretionary licensing schemes to license those houses in multiple occupation which do not fall within the mandatory definition. As of 6 April 2006 if a local authority operated an HMO registration scheme under the Housing Act 1985 that scheme has automatically been deemed a transitional additional licensing scheme.

Housing: Elderly

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to ensure that house building programmes take into account the long-term needs of older people.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 25 January 2007
	Ensuring appropriate housing provision for older people is part of the wider work of the Department, particularly through the national framework set by planning policy and building regulation. The long-term needs of older people within house building programmes are being addressed through the following means:
	A. Communities and Local Government is leading work on a cross-Whitehall strategy for housing and older people. The strategy will review current provision and plan for the future in the context of an ageing society. We expect to publish the strategy in summer 2007.
	B. We have recently published Planning Policy Statement 3, which states that Local Planning Authorities should plan for a mix of housing on the basis of the different types of households that are likely to require housing, including the accommodation requirements of specific groups such as older people. Regional Assemblies are expected to reflect the needs of the elderly in the evidence base that they use to underpin their Regional Spatial Strategies and Regional Housing Strategies.
	C. For house building programmes, we are now encouraging home builders to follow the principles set out in the Code for Sustainable Homes, which includes lifetime homes standards as an optional element. We are also considering making assessment under Code standards mandatory in future. Through the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE: the Government's adviser on urban design and architecture) we are also promoting take-up of the principles of Inclusive Designdesign that caters for everyone's needs, including those of older people. I am placing copies of this document in the House Library, or it can be found on the intranet at:
	www.cabe.org.uk
	In addition we have also announced that we will work with the Housing Corporationand its successor, 'Communities England'to ensure that most government-funded new build schemes will adopt the lifetime homes standards from 2010.

Local Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was allocated to each local authority in Gloucestershire in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08 for concessionary fees; and how much of the allocation has been spent in each case.

Phil Woolas: Concessionary fares is one of the services supported through formula grant, which consists of Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and, where appropriate, principal formula Police Grant.
	Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend it on any service. For this reason, and because of the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant was provided for any particular service.
	Data on local authorities' expenditure can only be collected once the reference period has finished. Data on expenditure on concessionary fares in 2006-07 are expected to be published in November 2007.

Local Planning Authorities

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local planning authorities have a specialist in-house conservation service.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Results of research commissioned by English Heritage and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and carried out by Oxford Brookes University was published in Local Authority Conservation Provision in England (February 2003). This states that 85 per cent. of local authorities can draw on at least some in-house conservation expertise. The average per authority is 1.7 full-time equivalent specialists.
	A recent telephone survey of planning authorities, part of further research by English Heritage and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, suggests that there has been little change since 2003.

Renewable Energy

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 185W, on renewable energy, what plans she has to increase the amount of energy from renewable sources.

Angela Smith: Government Departments are mandated to source at least 10 per cent. of electricity from renewable sources by March 2008.
	Communities and Local Government's HQ estate presently obtains 99 per cent. of its electricity from renewable sources. The remaining 1 per cent. is provided by our landlord in a multi-occupancy building as part of the service charge, and they have no proposals to change this arrangement.
	CLG's agencies obtain 52 per cent. of their electricity from renewable sources, and at this time they have no plans to increase this percentage, although the situation is reviewed annually. This review takes into consideration factors such as cost, market forces and Government commitments.

Social Care Funding

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to increase levels of social care funding for local authorities; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government have provided significant investment in local services, including in the area of social care, since taking office. Total Government grant has increased by 39 per cent. in real terms since 1997. We are working with local government to identify future pressures on local authorities, and the ways in which these can be mitigated, as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Scheme

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many access to work advisers there are in each region.

Anne McGuire: holding answer on 18 December 2006
	The information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Region  Number of advisers 
			 East of England 13 
			 East Midlands 11 
			 London 24 
			 North-east 6 
			 North-west 19 
			 Scotland 13 
			 South-east 17 
			 South-west 11 
			 Wales 5 
			 West Midlands 13 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 14

Benefits

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants were in receipt of  (a) incapacity benefit only,  (b) incapacity benefit in combination with any other benefit, broken down by type of benefit,  (c) any single benefit other than incapacity benefit, broken down by type of benefit and  (d) any combination of benefits, other than those involving incapacity benefit, broken down by type of combination in each of the last five years; and what the average weekly level of benefit received by a claimant was in each category in each year.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  All claimants by benefit combination, Great Britain 
			  Thousand 
			  Benefit combination  May 2002  May 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 All combinations 17,090.93 17,227.53 17,250.72 17,362.74 17,498.12 
			 CA only 246.58 255.38 264.80 267.81 271.62 
			 CA and SP 61.76 90.82 109.16 120.21 130.64 
			 DLA only 499.70 535.14 560.93 588.30 612.44 
			 DLA.SDA 83.38 77.33 72.36 68.41 64.31 
			 IB only 873.10 842.16 836.99 805.98 765.56 
			 IB and CA 7.95 9.13 10.67 11.24 11.32 
			 IB and DLA 490.60 504.94 518.01 528.73 533.09 
			 IS/PC only 987.31 961.21 932.96 898.90 888.81 
			 IS/PC and CA 128.64 133.82 135.68 137.08 138.94 
			 IS/PC, CA and SP 11.47 20.16 46.34 57.29 66.07 
			 IS/PC, DLA and SDA 204.48 200.54 194.69 189.16 183.43 
			 IS/PC and IB 679.75 679.23 656.79 639.53 620.18 
			 IS/PC, IB and DLA 395.99 430.73 453.03 469.00 481.13 
			 SDA and IS/PC 27.67 23.69 20.64 17.98 15.92 
			 SP and PC/IS 703.66 703.82 1,147.19 1,224.29 1,212.37 
			 IS/PC, SP and AA 514.88 515.10 670.94 724.41 732.59 
			 IS/PC, SP and DLA 165.85 182.06 257.06 285.27 302.35 
			 JSA only 889.07 896.25 788.53 811.64 909.59 
			 SDA only 15.42 13.36 11.93 10.71 9.53 
			 SP only 8,270.58 8,282.81 7,853.65 7,817.47 7,818.22 
			 SP and AA 908.39 938.52 810.66 780.27 800.04 
			 SP and DLA 469.78 491.74 450.85 457.10 469.02 
			 WB only 179.42 153.65 131.52 111.56 95.25 
			 Other combination 275.49 285.96 315.34 340.41 365.72 
		
	
	
		
			  Total average weekly amount for all claimants by benefit combination, Great Britain 
			   per week 
			  Benefit combination  May 2002  May 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 All combinations 90.39 93.55 98.14 100.81 103.68 
			 CA only   42.37 44.62 46.18 
			 CA and SP   73.87 76.11 78.99 
			 DLA only 53.24 54.36 55.81 57.50 58.92 
			 DLA.SDA 113.15 115.95 119.64 123.91 127.62 
			 IB only 72.63 72.53 72.75 73.92 75.52 
			 IB and CA   72.88 75.52 77.74 
			 IB and DLA 135.94 136.35 138.13 141.14 143.93 
			 IS/PC only 101.30 110.31 108.38 99.01 93.26 
			 IS/PC and CA   146.87 141.40 137.82 
			 IS/PC, CA and SP   119.72 125.94 130.65 
			 IS/PC, DLA and SDA 158.09 161.37 160.60 165.07 170.37 
			 IS/PC and IB 94.96 98.19 98.77 96.00 96.04 
			 IS/PC, IB and DLA 170.67 174.57 176.57 177.79 180.62 
			 SDA and IS/PC 96.61 100.57 101.14 102.12 104.13 
			 SP and PC/IS 103.54 106.46 108.69 113.07 117.88 
			 IS/PC, SP and AA 172.05 174.37 176.32 182.06 189.85 
			 IS/PC, SP and DLA 178.12 183.14 186.36 193.44 200.82 
			 JSA only 55.62 57.18 55.30 52.36 52.52 
			 SDA only 54.70 55.91 57.75 59.77 61.50 
			 SP only 75.48 77.92 80.18 83.29 86.44 
			 SP and AA 125.21 128.96 133.24 138.71 143.92 
			 SP and DLA 134.98 138.81 142.59 147.93 153.06 
			 WB only 79.55 79.88 80.66 81.44 82.01 
			 Other Combination 126.55 134.41 145.26 151.08 156.66 
			  Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and displayed in thousands; Some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 2. Average amounts are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny. 3. Benefits included are jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income support (IS), pension credit (PC), incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA), disability living allowance (DLA) (from May 2002), carer's allowance (CA), bereavement benefit (BB)/widow's benefit (WB), state pension, attendance allowance and national insurance credits only (through JSA or IB). 4. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are not available from WPLS data and are shown separately. 5. Average weekly amounts are combined averages of all benefits in payment. 6. Figures for AA, CA and DLA include those cases with entitlement but where payment is currently suspended (for example, because of an extended stay in hospital or an overlapping benefit).  7. Average weekly amounts of carer's allowance are unreliable prior to August 2003 and are therefore not included in the table  Source: Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) recipients in receipt of IB and SDA: Great Britain 
			  Thousand 
			   May 2002  May 2003  May 2004 
			 HB and IB 403 396 410 
			 HB and SDA 114 112 112 
			 CTB and IB 512 498 492 
			 CTB and SDA 110 97 95 
		
	
	
		
			  Average weekly amounts for HB/CTB recipients in receipt of IB and SDA: Great Britain 
			   
			   May 2002  May 2003  May 2004 
			 HB and IB 50.91 50.47 53.87 
			 HB and SDA 76.04 61.11 64.15 
			 CTB and IB 11.14 12.09 12.78 
			 CTB and SDA 11.74 12.62 13.45 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Case loads are rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Average amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 4. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 5. Council tax benefit figures exclude any second adult rebate cases. 6. May 2004 are the most recent data available

Benefits

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed both incapacity benefit and income support in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Claimants in receipt of both Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Income Support (IS), Great Britain 
			  As at May each year  Number (thousand) 
			 1997 461.30 
			 1998 468.10 
			 1999 461.00 
			 2000 471.31 
			 2001 493.20 
			 2002 477.12 
			 2003 468.73 
			 2004 432.73 
			 2005 407.04 
			 2006 389.74 
			  Notes:  1. Figures prior to May 2000 are rounded to the nearest hundred, and to the nearest ten thereafter.  2. IB claimant figures do not include IB credits only cases.  3. A smaller number of former MIG cases did not convert to pension credit on 6 October 2003. These cases have been excluded from the IS figures.  4. Figures prior to May 2000 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and rated up proportionally using 100 per cent WPLS totals   Source:  DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data - May 2000 onwards. IAD Information Centre 5 per cent. samples - May 1997-99

Departmental Staff

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of each executive agency or department responsible to him were  (a) on fixed-term appointments or (b) agency workers in each of the last three years; and what percentage of total staff these represented.

Anne McGuire: The number of staff on fixed-term appointments at 31 March in each of the last three years is shown in the following table.
	Historic information on the number of agency workers is not available but a recent estimate indicates the current Department has around 120 agency staff undertaking administrative and related work. This number represents around 0.1 per cent. of total departmental staffing.
	
		
			   31 March 2004  31 March 2005  31 March 2006 
			   Number of FTA  Percentage of total staff  Number of FTA  Percentage of total staff  Number of FTA  Percentage of total staff 
			 Jobcentre Plus 180 0.2 1006 1.4 945 1.3 
			 The Pension Service 699 3.6 986 6 472 3.4 
			 Child Support Agency 191 1.7 334 3.3 110 1 
			 Disability and Carers Service 25 0.3 17 0.3 47 0.7 
			 The Rent Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other departmental units 116 0.9 259 2.0 242 2.1 
			 Total 1,211 0.9 2,602 2.2 1,816 1.6 
			  Notes: 1.Figures are full time equivalent (rounded) and are consistent with Office for National Statistics definitions.

Disability Living Allowance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who receive disability living allowance are also in receipt of  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) income support,  (c) housing benefit and  (d) carer's allowance.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 18 January 2007
	The most recent available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance claimants by benefit combination in Great Britain: May 2006 
			   Number 
			 All disability living allowance claimants 2,799,160 
			 Disability living allowance and income support 632,460 
			 Disability living allowance and incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance 1,276,220 
			 Disability living allowance and carer's allowance 78,920 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Disability living allowance claimants includes payment cases only 3. It is possible for disability living allowance claimants to receive one or more of the other benefits in combination; such cases are included in each combination total.  Source: DWP Information DirectorateWPLS 100 per cent. data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Housing benefit recipients also in receipt of disability living allowance in Great Britain: May 2003 
			   Number 
			 All housing benefit recipients 3,796,000 
			 Housing benefit and disability living allowance 712,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or couple. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand; totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Housing benefit figures exclude extended payment cases.  Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent sample; May 2003

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of incapacity benefit claimants were aged over  (a) 40,  (b) 50,  (c) 55,  (d) 60 and  (e) 65 years in each of the last seven years.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Proportion of incapacity benefit claimants by age group, shown as a percentage of the total caseload each May from 2000 to 2006 
			  Percentage 
			   Age 40 to 49  Age 50 to 54  Age 55 to 59  Age 60 to 64  Age 65 and over 
			 2000 22.1 16.6 19.1 15.0  
			 2001 22.4 16.6 19.2 14.3  
			 2002 22.6 15.6 19.8 13.7  
			 2003 23.0 15.1 20.1 13.1  
			 2004 23.5 14.8 20.2 12.7  
			 2005 24.0 14.6 20.3 12.4  
			 2006 24.5 14.7 20.4 12.3  
			  Notes: 1. 'Claimant' figures include all IB (including IB credits only cases). 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. '' denotes nil or negligible. 4. Although in general incapacity benefit applies to people of working age, a small number of claimants are over state pension age.  Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for incapacity benefit on grounds of  (a) certain infectious and parasitic diseases,  (b) neoplasms,  (c) diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism,  (d) endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,  (e) mental and behavioural disorders,  (f) diseases of the nervous system,  (g) diseases of the eye and adnexa,  (h) diseases of the ear and mastoid process,  (i) diseases of the circulatory system,  (j) diseases of the respiratory system,  (k) factors influencing health status and contact with health services,  (l) diseases of the digestive system,  (m) diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system,  (n) diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,  (o) diseases of the genitourinary system,  (p) pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium,  (q) certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,  (r) congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities,  (s) symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified and  (t) injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes were disallowed following a personal capability assessment in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of IB/SDA terminations, following a personal capability assessment in each of the last three years broken down by medical groupings 
			   Year to: 
			   May 2004  May 2005  May 2006 
			 Certain infectious and parasitic diseases 640 820 760 
			 Neoplasms 900 800 1,140 
			 Diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism 460 200 280 
			 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases 1,420 1,620 1,300 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 32,560 35,460 41,500 
			 Diseases of the nervous system 2,500 2,180 2,560 
			 Diseases of the eye and adnexa 540 400 440 
			 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 320 260 260 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system 5,840 6,080 5,020 
			 Diseases of the respiratory system 1,840 1,680 2,080 
			 Factors influencing health status and contact with health services 1,100 820 1,120 
			 Diseases of the digestive system 2,080 1,820 1,760 
			 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system 880 1,020 740 
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 18,940 19,660 17,980 
			 Diseases of the genitourinary system 880 920 940 
			 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium 460 420 540 
			 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period 0 20 0 
			 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities 0 0 0 
			 Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified 14,440 14,420 15,680 
			 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 11,520 12,220 11,380 
			  Notes: 1. Figures and rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. For illustration purposes total terminations for May 2004 increased by 33 per cent. in the year following their initial release.  3. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, published by the World Health Organisation.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claims for incapacity benefit there were in each month since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the table. The figures are for claims made in each month and do not indicate the number of awards made.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claims received in Great Britain April 1998 to September 2006 
			   Number 
			 October 2006 64,018 
			 September 2006 60,361 
			 August 2006 61,375 
			 July 2006 55,686 
			 June 2006 58,372 
			 May 2006 54,805 
			 April 2006 45,386 
			 March 2006 61,506 
			 February 2006 57,007 
			 January 2006 55,461 
			 December 2005 48,451 
			 November 2005 60,365 
			 October 2005 57,074 
			 September 2005 58,625 
			 August 2005 57,896 
			 July 2005 55,722 
			 June 2005 60,686 
			 May 2005 57,361 
			 April 2005 59,503 
			 March 2005 61,312 
			 February 2005 61,405 
			 January 2005 60,556 
			 December 2004 56,736 
			 November 2004 65,170 
			 October 2004 64,041 
			 September 2004 67,040 
			 August 2004 65,102 
			 July 2004 62,016 
			 June 2004 66,326 
			 May 2004 60,368 
			 April 2004 58,878 
			 March 2004 75,131 
			 February 2004 65,038 
			 January 2004 67,141 
			 December 2003 58,860 
			 November 2003 62,684 
			 October 2003 72,589 
			 September 2003 69,106 
			 August 2003 59,971 
			 July 2003 71,698 
			 June 2003 66,474 
			 May 2003 64,299 
			 April 2003 63,992 
			 March 2003 68,939 
			 February 2003 69,647 
			 January 2003 74,828 
			 December 2002 56,734 
			 November 2002 69,478 
			 October 2002 75,570 
			 September 2002 67,801 
			 August 2002 69,165 
			 July 2002 73,405 
			 June 2002 58,695 
			 May 2002 74,550 
			 April 2002 69,248 
			 March 2002 64,137 
			 February 2002 68,042 
			 January 2002 70,820 
			 December 2001 50,614 
			 November 2001 66,746 
			 October 2001 71,312 
			 September 2001 61,803 
			 August 2001 66,041 
			 July 2001 67,994 
			 June 2001 65,203 
			 May 2001 70,314 
			 April 2001 68,410 
			 March 2001 79,444 
			 February 2001 73,051 
			 January 2001 82,132 
			 December 2000 56,307 
			 November 2000 79,374 
			 October 2000 76,526 
			 September 2000 70,422 
			 August 2000 74,145 
			 July 2000 71,288 
			 June 2000 74,661 
			 May 2000 74,319 
			 April 2000 58,651 
			 March 2000 83,351 
			 February 2000 76,072 
			 January 2000 78,038 
			 December 1999 61,413 
			 November 1999 79,740 
			 October 1999 74,377 
			 September 1999 76,984 
			 August 1999 70,791 
			 July 1999 78,776 
			 June 1999 76,405 
			 May 1999 69,677 
			 April 1999 72,612 
			 March 1999 85,076 
			 February 1999 79,180 
			 January 1999 77,599 
			 December 1998 63,612 
			 November 1998 78,227 
			 October 1998 81,500 
			 September 1998 79,039 
			 August 1998 71 ,049 
			 July 1998 78,138 
			 June 1998 77,255 
			 May 1998 68,766 
			 April 1998 74,219 
			  Notes:  1. SDA has not been available to new claimants since 6 April 2001  Source:  DWP management information data.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of each age cohort of  (a) men and  (b) women in the working age population were on incapacity-related benefits in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by (i) educational background and (ii) other available characteristics.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table. Information is not available broken down by educational background.
	
		
			  Proportion of working age incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants by age and gender, in Great Britain 
			  Percentage 
			   Female population within age band  Male population within age band 
			  Quarter ending August 2005   
			 All 6.5 8.5 
			 16-17 0.6 0.6 
			 18-24 2.9 3.3 
			 25-34 3.9 5.5 
			 35-44 5.8 7.4 
			 45-49 8.4 9.0 
			 50-54 10.9 11.2 
			 55-59 13.8 14.5 
			 60-64 (1) 21.1 
			
			  Quarter ending November 2005   
			 All 6.4 8.4 
			 16-17 0.6 0.6 
			 18-24 2.9 3.3 
			 25-34 3.9 5.5 
			 35-44 5.8 7.4 
			 45-49 8.4 9.0 
			 50-54 10.8 11.1 
			 55-59 13.8 14.5 
			 60-64 (1) 20.7 
			
			  Quarter ending February 2006   
			 All 6.4 8.4 
			 16-17 0.6 0.6 
			 18-24 2.9 3.2 
			 25-34 3.9 5.4 
			 35-44 5.8 7.4 
			 45-49 8.4 9.2 
			 50-54 10.8 11.1 
			 55-59 13.8 14.5 
			 60-64 (1) 20.4 
			
			  Quarter ending May 2006   
			 All 6.4 8.3 
			 16-17 0.5 0.5 
			 18-24 2.8 3.1 
			 25-34 3.8 5.3 
			 35-44 5.8 7.3 
			 45-49 8.3 8.9 
			 50-54 10.8 11.0 
			 55-59 13.8 14.3 
			 60-64 (1) 20.2 
			 (1) Denotes nil or negligible.  Note: Percentages rounded to one decimal place.  Source: Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS; ONS population estimates.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of claims for incapacity benefit were unsuccessful in each year since 1976-77; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Figures are not available prior to 1999-2000. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Proportion of unsuccessful incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claims in each year; Great Britain 
			   Percentage 
			 1999-2000 40.8 
			 2000-01 46.7 
			 2001-02 49.3 
			 2002-03 52.3 
			 2003-04 52.2 
			 2004-05 46.3 
			 2005-06 44.2 
			  Source:  DWP management information data.

Local Housing Allowances

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the impact of changing the definition for determining the local housing allowance from the mid point of local rents to the median on the  (a) percentage of claimants subject to the single room rate/shared room rent restriction who face a shortfall between their eligible and contractual rent and  (b) average size of that shortfall.

James Plaskitt: Any shortfall between the local housing allowance and contractual rent at the time of national roll-out of the local housing allowance will depend on the trends in local rent levels and the accommodation choices made by tenants. The trends in local rent levels up to the point of national roll-out are currently hard to predict and local housing allowance rates will vary across local private rent sector markets. This is true for all claimants, including those single under 25-year-olds without dependants who are subject to the local housing allowance shared room rate.
	However, we estimate that overall, the majority of all new claimants at rollout will gain under the proposed national local housing allowance compared to what they would have been entitled to under the current housing benefit rules.

Office for Disability Issues

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff the Office for Disability Issues employs.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 19 January 2007
	The Office for Disability Issues (ODI) has recently reached its target headcount of 67 people.

Special Funds

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the special funds set up by his Department since 2002; what the expenditure of each fund was in each year since 2002; and what the planned expenditure on each is in each year to 2009.

Anne McGuire: The Department is required to operate under the Government Accounting regime. Within these rules the term Special Funds is not recognised or defined, therefore the Department does not have any special funds, nor has there been any expenditure or planned expenditure in this respect.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Transportation Rules

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expected cost is of the change to the rules for transporting animals.

Ben Bradshaw: The cost of complying with Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations is estimated to be 7.7 million. The regulatory impact assessment is available on the DEFRA website.

Animal Transportation Rules

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how he defines long journeys as used in section 3.1 to 3.5 of his Department's regulations on the ventilation of vehicles.

Ben Bradshaw: Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations defines a 'long journey' as that
	which exceeds eight hours, starting from when the first animal of the consignment is moved.
	Point 3 of Chapter VI in Annex I of the Regulation prescribes the ventilation systems and temperature monitoring equipment required on the relevant means of transport used for long journeys.
	As permitted by Article 18(4) of the Regulation, we have chosen to derogate from certain provisions in Annex 1, Chapter VI, for road vehicles undertaking journeys up to a maximum of 12 hours within the UK. These derogations include the installation of ventilation and temperature monitoring equipment, as described in point 3.2 of Chapter VI.

Animal Welfare Act

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 970-71, on the Animal Welfare Act, whether the secondary legislation set out in the table includes legislation to replace the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Animal Welfare Act will provide an opportunity to introduce secondary legislation to replace current dog-breeding legislation with new regulations. The Kennel Club has recently launched an accredited breeders scheme, whose progress we will closely monitor. It will take time for the learning from the scheme to be evaluated. It would, therefore, be premature for me to speculate on the possible timing for any new law on dog breeding.

Arable Land

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hectares of arable land there are in the UK.

Barry Gardiner: The total area of arable land in the UK at June 2006 was 5,626,000 hectares.
	 Note:
	Arable land comprises of all crops, bare fallow and grass less than five years old.
	 Source:
	June Agricultural Survey.

Badgers

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department has given to local authorities on the handling and processing of the testing of badgers for tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: When undertaking surveys involving the post mortem and testing of badgers for tuberculosis, Defra has enlisted the help of a range of interested parties including local authorities and the Highways Agency to report the location of carcases. Reported carcases have subsequently been collected and processed by Defra staff, working to a risk-based health and safety code. This code is made available to others involved or on request.

Biofuels

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1433, on bio-fuels, what estimate he has made of how much palm oil was used for bio-fuel in 2006.

Ian Pearson: The UK imported 633,000 tonnes of palm oil in 2005, the last full year for which figures are available. However, palm oil is used in many processed foods, cosmetics and detergents, as well as in biofuels.
	We do not hold statistics on the use of palm oil. From 1 April 2008, the renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) will require a declaration of sustainability to help identify sources of biofuels.

Bovine TB

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost is of a pre-movement bovine tuberculosis test; and whether his Department has estimated the cost of moving to a whole-herd annual test.

Ben Bradshaw: A pre-movement tuberculosis test is a private transaction between an individual farmer and his or her local veterinary inspector.
	The cost of moving to annual herd testing for the whole of England has not been estimated.

Bovine TB

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what work  (a) has been and  (b) is being carried out to tailor the evaluation tables for compensation on bovine tuberculosis slaughter for the added value of (i) high yield dairy cattle, (ii) organic stock and (iii) pedigree stock.

Ben Bradshaw: The decision to introduce a new cattle compensation system, in February last year, was not made lightly, and was taken only after two public consultations. Wherever possible, the Government have responded to detailed concerns raised by interested organisations. Following our consultations, significant enhancements to the system were madein particular, the number of table valuation cattle categories was increased from the proposed 29 to 47.
	In line with Government's on going commitment to work in partnership with interested organisations, Defra has set up the Cattle Compensation Advisory Group (CCAG) to monitor, with the industry, the introduction of the new compensation system.
	Defra and the CCAG are discussing a range of ideas the group has suggested for enhancing the current compensation arrangementsthese include the specific areas raised by the hon. Member. While Defra has not ruled out the possibility of changes to the compensation system, they are not inevitable. Any changes would need to be justified and fair to farmers and the taxpayer. They would also need to take account of the extensive evidence on the level of over-valuation experienced under the previous system based on individual valuations.

Cattle Testing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with EU colleagues the provision of additional funding for animal handling facilities to deal with increased cattle testing.

Ben Bradshaw: This issue was raised when I met with the hon. Member and a delegation of his constituents on 18 January. As agreed at the meeting, I will look into the matter and respond to the hon. Member in writing.

Employment Agencies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many employment agencies were employed by the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last five years; and what expenditure was incurred on agency services in each year.

Barry Gardiner: The number of employment agencies employed by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for each of the last five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 9 
			 2003-04 10 
			 2004-05 10 
			 2005-06 15 
			 2006-07 14 
		
	
	The total expenditure incurred on agency services in each year was:
	
		
			million 
			 2002-03 3.558 
			 2003-04 4.777 
			 2004-05 4.473 
			 2005-06 21.080 
			 2006-07 (part) 18.620 
		
	
	The costs for employment agency staff have been reported on an accruals basis and for financial years 2002-03 to 2005-06 they have been reported in RPA's Annual Accounts and have been subject to audit by NAO.
	For financial year 2006-07 costs have been reported on an accruals basis to the end of December 2006 (i.e. nine months' position) and this figure is currently reflected in RPA's 2006-07 provisional interim account.

Endangered Species

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to raise the issue of the sale of endangered animals on the internet at the forthcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora conference.

Barry Gardiner: The EU member states have submitted a UK-inspired proposal for a decision on Internet Trade in Specimens of CITES-listed species, to be considered at the 14th CITES conference of the parties this June.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of the executive agencies of his Department have regional offices outside London.

Barry Gardiner: All of Defra's nine executive agencies have regional and/or head offices outside London. The locations are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Agency  Location of head office  Location of regional offices 
			 Central Science Laboratory Sand Hutton, York  
			
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex 
			   Weymouth 
			
			 Government Decontamination Service Stafford  
			
			 Marine Fisheries Agency London North Shields, Tyne and Wear 
			   Amble, Northumberland 
			   Hartlepool, Cleveland 
			   Whitehaven, Cumbria 
			   Grimsby 
			   Kings Lynn 
			   Scarborough 
			   Fleetwood 
			   Lowestoft 
			   Harwich 
			   Hastings 
			   Poole 
			   Portslade, W Sussex 
			   Portsmouth 
			   Plymouth 
			   Brixham, Devon 
			   Penzance 
			   Penryn 
			   Milford Haven 
			   Holyhead, Anglesey 
			
			 Pesticides Safety Directorate York  
			
			 Rural Payments Agency Reading Northallerton 
			   Workington 
			   Exeter 
			   Carlisle 
			   Newcastle 
			
			 State Veterinary Service Worcester Carlisle 
			   Leeds 
			   Lincoln 
			   Newcastle upon Tyne 
			   Preston 
			   Stafford 
			   Bury St. Edmunds 
			   Chelmsford 
			   Leicester 
			   Reading 
			   Reigate 
			   Exeter 
			   Gloucester 
			   Taunton 
			   Truro 
			   Worcester (animal health divisional office) 
			   Ayr 
			   Galashiels 
			   Inverness 
			   Inverurie 
			   Perth 
			   Caernafon 
			   Cardiff 
			   Carmarthen 
			
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey Aberystwyth 
			   Bury St. Edmunds 
			   Carmathen 
			   Langford, Bristol 
			   Lasswade, Midlothian 
			   Luddington, Warks 
			   Newcastle 
			   New Haw (Laboratory Testing) 
			   Penrith 
			   Preston 
			   Shrewsbury 
			   Starcross, Devon 
			   Sutton Bonnington, Leics 
			   Thirsk 
			   Truro 
			   Winchester 
			
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate New Haw, Addlestone

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Barry Gardiner: Defra is responsible for nine executive agencies. Information about their functions and recent budgets are publicly available on the Defra website as well as other information about the Defra Group delivery landscape. Please follow the link to:
	http://defraweb/corporate/delivery/landscape/map/index.htm
	Information about the executive agencies is also publicly available through the annual Defra departmental report and the Annual Report with Accounts of each executive agency, copies of which are lodged in the Library of the House.

Fishing Boats

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from where he plans to allocate the quota for under 10 metre fishing boats.

Ben Bradshaw: Allocations for fishing vessels of 10 metres and under in length are calculated as a share of UK quotas for stocks, which are set at the December Fisheries Council.
	The UK quotas are adjusted to take account of post- council and end of year swaps. Further adjustments are made to account for penalties that may apply as a result of overfishing of quotas in previous years and any quantities that may be banked or borrowed in line with European regulations.
	The initial allocations made to 10 metre and under vessels are calculated from fixed quota allocations for each stock, which are based on the catch pattern of these vessels during a standard reference period. The allocations vary from stock to stock.
	In addition, the share of the quota that 10 metre and under vessels receive is underpinned for a number of stocks that have traditionally been considered of key importance to those vessels. This provides those vessels with a guaranteed minimum share of the stocks, although the precise amounts may change in line with the UK quotas.
	Opportunities are also taken to increase the allocations for the 10 metre and under vessels through the operation of economic links arrangements and by in-year swaps.

Flood Prevention

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are in place to assess the effects of flood prevention measures on  (a) natural and  (b) man-made water routes.

Ian Pearson: All flood risk management schemes are rigorously assessed by the relevant operating authorities to capture and manage any likely impacts on the environment. In addition to ensuring as far as possible that such schemes do not cause environmental damage, every effort is made to use flood risk management operations to enhance the environment and thus provide multiple benefits from the investment of public money.
	We are of the view that these processes are sufficiently robust to cater for any new requirements under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), although current procedures are presently under review to ensure that they are appropriate for WFD responsibilities.

Flooding

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in  (a) East Cambridgeshire,  (b) Cambridgeshire and  (c) England were affected by flooding in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The last significant flooding in Cambridgeshire took place between December 2002 and January 2003 when 84 Cambridgeshire properties were affected. The Environment Agency received no reports of flooding of homes in East Cambridgeshire as a result of this incident.
	Cambridgeshire also experienced severe flooding in October 2001. According to reports made to the Environment Agency, 500 properties were flooded across Cambridgeshire as a whole. However, only a single property was flooded in East Cambridgeshire.
	The figures for October 2001 are based upon post-event survey work carried out by the Environment Agency and represent the total reported flooding from main rivers, non-main rivers, surface water and other flooding.
	In addition to these major flood events, there are anecdotal reports of flooding from other, localised, events such as intense summer thunderstorms which suddenly inundate properties over a small area. The Environment Agency does not hold statistics for these occurrences.
	The Environment Agency does not compile figures for flooded properties at a national level.

Greenhouse Gases

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has  (a) conducted and  (b) commissioned research on the comparative contribution to the release of greenhouse gas emissions of conventionally grown food crops and organically grown foodstuffs.

Ian Pearson: Defra funds a large amount of research on the measurement and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
	Two recently published Defra-funded research projects have included an examination of the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of conventionally and organically grown crops and foodstuffs. 'Determining the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of agricultural and horticultural commodities' was published in September 2006. The study included a comparison of the environmental burdens arising from the production of ten key commodities using a range of farming methods (including organic).
	'Environmental Impacts of Food Production and Consumption' was published in January 2007. The objective of the project was to compare available international life cycle information on top-selling food products to achieve insights into the environmental impacts of a representative selection of food products commonly purchased in the UK.

Landfill

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has put in place to help local authorities meet higher targets for landfill diversion.

Ben Bradshaw: Action to reduce the amount of waste which is sent to landfill is driven by regional and local strategies and supported by nationally funded programmes. As well as encouraging more sustainable resource use, diverting waste from landfill contributes to our efforts to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
	The landfill allowances trading scheme (LATS), which we established in 2005, is the main measure in place to help local authorities (LAs) meet national obligations under the EU Landfill Directive to divert biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill. LATS is a market mechanism that provides LAs with the flexibility to reduce the amount of BMW they landfill in the most cost effective way.
	In addition, the Government are providing funding and support to LAs to help them promote and develop more sustainable waste management practices such as recycling, reuse and waste minimisation.
	The Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) has a number of projects under way which will help LAs reach their statutory recycling targets by providing best practice, guidance and toolkits for waste management. WIP provides direct support and information to LAs on planning, waste disposal and recycling. In addition, the WIP-funded waste and resources action programme (WRAP) is working with a number of LAs on programmes designed to improve the efficiency of recycling schemes and establish home composting and other minimisation activities.
	Funding is provided to LAs to increase recycling and divert waste from landfill through the waste performance and efficiency grant (a three-year targeted grant totalling 260 million), with a further 535 million available from private finance initiative credits from 2006-08.
	The waste infrastructure delivery programme (WIDP), which we announced in May last year, will work nationally with LAs and the regions to accelerate the build of new waste diversion infrastructure.
	We are working towards challenging national targets and most LAs are making progress. They are achieving higher recycling and composting rates for household waste and greater reuse of waste materials and are working to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first instance.
	The revised waste strategy for England, which we will publish in the spring, will outline what steps are being taken, and what more needs to be done, to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill. The public, businesses and the Government all have roles to play in following more sustainable waste management practices.

Marine Fisheries Agency

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Marine Fisheries Agency's performance targets for  (a) fishing vessel licensing,  (b) quota management,  (c) grants and  (d) marine environment were revised; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Marine Fisheries Agency's targets were refined in the light of operational experience and to ensure realistic and appropriate measures of performance. Specific explanations for each amended target are set out as follows:
	 Fishing Vessel Licensing
	The amendment reflects the Agency's work to simplify the issue of fishing vessel licences for over 10 metre vessels. Such licences are now issued every two years rather than annually.
	 Quota Management
	The revised target ensures that the Agency reports on its performance in managing fisheries quotas for which it has responsibility. The previous target included management of quotas that were the responsibility of other fisheries administrations in the UK that the Agency was not responsible for.
	 Grants
	The target was amended in the light of operational experience. It was unrealistic, within available resources, to require 100 per cent. of claims to be processed within eight weeks. The revised target remains challenging, but is more realistic. The Agency will, however, continue to aim for all claims to be processed within the eight-week deadline.
	 Marine Environment
	The Agency undertakes inspections of Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) licensed construction sites, ensuring that accessible sites are inspected during licensing periods. However, licensing periods do not correspond with the period covered by the annual performance target. This makes it difficult to report or measure activities in a meaningful way. The Agency is developing a risk-based approach to inspection, which will take account of the environmental and fisheries sensitivities of the FEPA licensed activity. The target was amended to reflect that decision. Risk-based inspection targets will apply for 2007-08.

Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) supported into measures to reduce (i) methane and (ii) carbon dioxide caused by farm animals.

Ian Pearson: Agriculture as a whole contributes 7 per cent. of all UK greenhouse gas emissions and 14 per cent. globally, but less than 1 per cent. of carbon dioxide. Emissions of carbon dioxide attributed to agriculture arise from direct energy use such as the use of diesel in tractors, gas in heating greenhouses, and electricity used in livestock buildings. The bigger challenge is on two other gases, methane and nitrous oxide, of which some 36 per cent. and 67 per cent. respectively comes from agriculture, livestock, manures, and artificial fertiliser. About 86 per cent. of this methane comes from enteric fermentation in the digestive system of animals (sheep, pigs and bovines), and about 14 per cent. from animal waste. Methane emissions from agriculture have declined by 12 per cent. since 1990.
	In December 2006, Defra announced a 750,000 investment in research on ruminant nutrition regimes to reduce enteric methane and nitrogen emissions from livestock. This research project will build on our knowledge-base and take an integrated approach to the development of ruminant nutrition regimes to deliver reductions in total greenhouse gas emissions (particularly methane) per animal and per unit of meat and milk output. Approaches for consideration include the modification of forage-based diets, alterations to concentrate feed formulation and ingredients, and feed supplements. All options and solutions will be looked at.
	This research builds on a wealth of past work where Defra and its predecessor have invested in research to improve the productivity of dairy cattle. The resulting increases in individual cow milk yields can reduce methane emissions per unit of milk produced. The Defra research has included, for example, developing grass varieties that are high in sugar and lead indirectly to a reduction in methane emissions.
	The Government are also reviewing its approach to anaerobic digestion (AD), a system which, when used in agriculture, processes animal manures and food wastes, and generates methane (biogas) which can be captured and used as a renewable energy source. This technology reduces methane emissions from manures when the methane is captured effectively. Defra is investing in research at the Institute for Grassland and Environment Research looking at how AD technology can be embedded into farming and agricultural systems to deliver a wide range of benefits, including methane mitigation. This research is being done in conjunction with a large EU-funded project looking at the optimisation of AD technology.

Nappies

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the quality of the data used in the Environment Agency's Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable and Disposable Nappies in the UK; and when a revised version of the Assessment will be published.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency's (EA) 2005 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the UK was critically reviewed by an external expert appointed by the EA prior to its publication.
	The Critical Review concluded that methods used to carry out the LCA were consistent with the International Standard and that data used were, in general, appropriate and reasonable in relation to the goal of the study.
	The published report reflects the revisions recommended by the critical review process. The Review and practitioner's responses are included as Annex C in the published report.
	However, the LCA did make recommendations for further work, which would reflect changes in the main type of re-usable nappy used and how 'good practice' in the way re-usable nappies are used would affect the conclusions. This further work is due to be published in the spring.

Nappies

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the tonnage of disposable nappies sent to landfill sites in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not collect information on the amount of disposable nappies used or their disposal route.
	However, the Environment Agency's Life Cycle Assessment of Disposable and Reusable Nappies in the UK report, published in 2005, estimated that 2 to 3 per cent. of household waste is made up of disposable nappies. This equates to approximately 400,000 tonnes of waste each year. In 2005-06, 62 per cent. (approximately 17.9 million tonnes) of municipal waste was sent to landfill.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget of each body was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Barry Gardiner: Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by Defra can be found in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies 2006, copies of which are in the Library and which is also available online at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf

Plastic Bags

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will reverse his decision on a plastic bag levy for shoppers.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government have no current plans to introduce a levy on plastic bags for shoppers.
	Although a levy on plastic carrier bags may reduce the number of disposable lightweight plastic bags in circulation, there is at present no clear evidence that such a tax would be beneficial on either broad environmental or litter grounds. The net overall environmental effect of a levy would depend largely on the nature and extent of substitution by other products, including the use of bags made from other materials and alternative forms of packaging.
	On 12 October last year, the Scottish Minister, Ross Finnie, and I jointly chaired a meeting with major UK retailers, to discuss a proposed voluntary code of practice on reducing the use of paper and plastic carrier bags.
	DEFRA is working closely with the devolved administrations, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the British Retail Consortium, retailers and the plastics industry on this issue and we intend to announce a programme of joint activity shortly.

Potatoes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what environmental impact analysis has been conducted of blight-resistant potatoes in terms of  (a) fungicide use and  (b) the costs and risks of contamination.

Ian Pearson: I assume my hon. Friend's question refers to the recent decision to approve trials of a genetically modified (GM) blight-resistant potato. It is planned to use less fungicide on the GM trial potatoes than in normal conventional practice, in order to test the effectiveness of their blight-resistance to UK strains of the disease. With regards cross-contamination, statutory conditions have been attached to the trials to ensure that no GM material enters the food, or animal feed, chain.

Potatoes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what safety information he has received from BASF plc in respect of their application for GM blight-resistant potatoes in the UK; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Ian Pearson: The BASF application provided a range of safety assessment information, in line with the legislative requirements. A copy of the application will be placed in the Library of the House.

Potatoes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what risk assessments have been conducted on the viability of the 20 metre exclusion zone surrounding the GM potato trial sites;
	(2)  what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on separation distances required for GM potato trials; and what representations he has received calling for separation distances in excess of 20 metres.

Ian Pearson: The 20 metre separation distance was assessed as being appropriate by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE). It based this view on a scientific report, published in 1996, that gave a comprehensive review of data on potato cross-pollination frequency. Several representations were received that referred to, or recommended, a separation distance above 20 m, and these were considered by ACRE before it finalised it's advice to Ministers.

Potatoes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the safety procedures for the genetically modified (GM) trial sites with respect to the potential for GM potato groundkeepers to survive until the next growing season.

Ian Pearson: Based on an assessment by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), conditions have been specified to ensure that genetically modified (GM) groundkeepers do not persist at the trial sites. The conditions require groundkeepers and volunteers (plants that develop from true seed) to be closely monitored and controlled after the trials have ended. The trial sites will not be released from statutory control until there have been two consecutive years in which no groundkeepers or volunteers are observed. The application of these provisions will be overseen by the DEFRA GM Inspectorate. ACRE's advice and the statutory consent are available on the DEFRA website.

Public Service Agreements

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which statistics are used to determine whether his Department's Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets have been met, broken down by PSA target; and which of these are classified as national statistics.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 15 January 2007
	Defra's latest performance against its PSA targets, along with supporting statistics, was published in the Department's Autumn Performance Report, in December 2006. More detail can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/apr/apr2006.pdf
	Defra's Public Service Agreement incorporates technical notes which contain information about the statistics used to monitor progress towards meeting the Department's PSA targets. The Agreement can be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/busplan/tn.pdf
	Further details of how the Department measures performance against its 2004 Spending Review PSA targets can also be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/busplan/measuring performance-0612.pdf
	A report by the independent Statistics Commission entitled 'PSA Targets: the Devil in the Detail,' which was published on 20 March 2006, contains an independent analysis of each Department's PSA targets. Copies of that report are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.statscom.org.uk/C_467.aspx

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Defra came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the core-Department's expenditure on personnel engaged through employment agencies since 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Value () 
			 2002-03 10,536,828 
			 2003-04 9,383,419 
			 2004-05 9,623,459 
			 2005-06 9,890,898 
			 1 April to 30 September 2006 3,908,745 
		
	
	Information for the financial year 2001-02 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Recycling

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been  (a) conducted and  (b) commissioned by his Department into the effect on pensioners of the introduction of a municipal tax on household rubbish to incentivise segregation, minimisation and recycling.

Ben Bradshaw: Householders already contribute to waste service provision through council tax.
	No specific research has been conducted on the impact of financial incentives such as recycling rebates on pensioners. DEFRA has commissioned an independent research project examining the international evidence on incentive schemes and the potential impact of incentives in England, including their distributional impact.
	England's Waste Strategy is currently being reviewed and DEFRA is considering the full range of measures that could encourage producers and consumers to change their behaviour regarding waste and recycling in general. Most existing incentive schemes reward those householders that produce less residual waste after recycling. By minimising waste and recycling or home composting as much as possible, householders can help to keep down waste costs and, therefore, help reduce pressures on council tax bills. Pensioners tend to produce less waste than the average household, so would be likely to gain from any incentive scheme. Any new initiatives on waste would of course need to take into account the impact on different groups, including the vulnerable and those on low incomes, as part of a Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Research and Development

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's expenditure was on research and development in financial year 2006-07; and what his estimate is of expenditure in 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The current budget for 2006-07 is 146 million, but total expenditure can only be fully reported after the financial year's end. The budget estimate for 2007-08 is the same, at 146 million.

Rural Payments Agency

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are employed in the Rural Payments Agency; what the cost of staff salaries was in 2005-06; and what the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest salary is for each job.

Barry Gardiner: The total number of Rural Payment Agency (RPA) employees on the payroll as of 31 December 2006 was 3,187 (3,025.26 FTE).
	The RPA paybill for the 2005-06 financial year was 85,792,426 and this includes employer national insurance contributions and superannuation.
	Salary is determined by grade and the highest and lowest salary in each grade at RPA is:
	
		
			   
			   Highest  Lowest 
			 SCS 205,000 55,000 
			 Grade 6 60,920 47,915 
			 Grade 7 49,404 40,139 
			 SFO 40,280 29,374 
			 SEO 37,368 29,219 
			 HEO 29,703 24,060 
			 EO and PS 25,330 20,953 
			 AO and SGB1 and typist 18,977 15,473 
			 AA and SGB2 15,516 12,680 
			  Note: The pay scales above are effective from 1 July 2006.

Smart Electricity Meters

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to promote the installation of smart electricity meters in private homes.

Ian Pearson: I refer the my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister of State for Science and Innovation on 22 January 2007,  Official Report column 1569.

Tobacco Production: European Union

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of tobacco produced in the EU is high tar.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.
	Maximum machine-measured tar levels in cigarettes produced in the European Union are set by Directive 2001/37/EC, a copy of which is available in the Library.
	Because machine-measured tar levels in cigarettes do not provide a meaningful indication of the tar levels actually obtained by an individual smoker, the Directive also banned the use of misleading descriptors on cigarettes packs such as low tar, light or mild from 30 September 2003.

Whaling

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to curtail commercial whaling.

Ben Bradshaw: Since the 1985-86 whaling seasons, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has maintained a moratorium on the hunting and killing of all great whales. Norway and Iceland, who objected to the introduction of the moratorium, are thus not bound by it and therefore conduct whaling operations legally.
	The UK will continue to protest at the highest diplomatic level against Norway and Iceland's activities which, though legal, are not in keeping with the spirit of the IWC. We will continue our efforts, along with other countries, to urge these countries to reconsider their position and reverse this unjustified and unnecessary practice. Indeed, in November, the UK led a diplomatic demarche of 25 countries together with the European Commission in condemning the Icelandic Government's decision to resume commercial whaling.
	DEFRA officials also ensure that Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts in the relevant capitals are briefed, and engage in discussion with their counterparts on whaling at every appropriate opportunity. This ensures that these countries are in no doubt of the importance that the UK places on whale conservation.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Deliberative Forums

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will make a statement on the anticipated cost and purpose of the Government's proposals to use deliberative forums to consult public opinion.

Patrick McFadden: Following a formal process Ipsos MORI have been selected as partners to recruit a representative sample of the population, develop stimulus materials and deliver five regional forums and a national citizens summit.
	This deliberative public engagement exercise is being developed to complement the policy review process announced by the Prime Minister in the autumn. The representative group of the general public will explore aspects of what people think as 'citizens' and as 'customers' of public services. The results of their deliberations will go directly to Cabinet to inform Government policies for the future.
	Deliberative research is focused on engaging people in a dialogue rather than taking a snapshot of their opinions. It involves people more fully in the processes of research, ensuring that results reflect their concerns; participants are involved in creating and exploring different options.
	The process builds on good practice in engaging citizens in policy making, through, for example the Department of Health's Your Health Your Care Your Say consultation on the future of community services and the Department for Work and Pension's national pensions debate.
	The anticipated cost of the deliberative exercise is 90,000, less than the cost of the exercises referred to above.

Government Websites

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Government websites  (a) have been and  (b) are planned to be closed under the Transformational Government strategy; which are expected to remain open for the foreseeable future; and if she will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government's objective is to improve citizen and business focus, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency in the Government's web services as set out in Transformational Government: Enabled by Technology (Cm 6683) and Sir David Varney's report on service transformation Chancellor of the Exchequer on Service Transformation: a Better Service For Citizens and Businesses, a Better Deal for Taxpayers. We will preserve and strengthen the availability and accessibility of the information and services themselves through a smaller number of high quality websites focused around audiences, including Directgov and Businesslink.
	In the work so far, Departments have decided to close 551 existing websites; I have placed a list in the Library. For those sites not yet closed there will be detailed discussions about the timing and form of migration at departmental level with each of the site operators and other stakeholders. Website users will be fully informed when changes occur. Where relevant, appropriate redirection will help ensure a seamless transition.

Government Websites

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have been taken to reduce the number of websites hosted by  (a) Government Departments,  (b) Executive agencies and  (c) non-departmental bodies; and what plans there are for further reductions and consolidation of such websites.

Patrick McFadden: In the Transformational Government Annual Report (Cm 6970) we said that in the first phase of departmental reviews decisions have already been taken to close 551 websites and that decisions on 374 further sites will be taken in the next six months. Further discussions will take place in order to produce detailed implementation plans, confirm the role of departmental corporate sites, extend the review to Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and encourage further collaboration between Departments. This will be completed by June 2007.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of her Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether she plans to increase the use of open source software in her Department.

Patrick McFadden: Information on the current and future use of open source software in my department, which would be required to calculate percentages against proprietary software, is not held centrally and cannot be collected except at disproportionate cost.
	The Cabinet Office follows the Government's Open Source Software (OSS) Policy (Version 2 was published on 28 October 2004), which requires that Government consider OSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements, and award contracts on a value for money basis. It does not therefore have plans in place to raise the level of OSS use, but rather will make software procurement decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Policy Review Working Groups

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what public consultation events  (a) have taken place and  (b) are planned as part of the policy review working groups; what the (i) date and (ii) location is of each such event; and how many members of the public have attended such events to date.

Patrick McFadden: A public engagement strand of the policy review has been established, giving a representative group of the population the opportunity to engage in discussing key issues emerging from the public services working group.
	Ipsos MORI have been engaged to manage the recruitment process and to organise five regional citizens forums. They will select a group of 100 people from all walks of life to be representative of the population, based on good practice in market research, achieving a geographical and demographic spread.
	The citizens forums will be held in February 2007, feeding into a citizens summit in March. The dates for the individual meetings have yet to be finalised. Approximately 20-25 people will attend each forum.

Policy Review Working Groups

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  whether the Policy Review Working Groups announced on 14 December 2006 will publish reports of their conclusions;
	(2)  when it was decided that the Government's policy review would not have a full policy working group on economic dynamism;
	(3)  how many civil servants have been allocated from  (a) Downing Street and  (b) the Cabinet Office to support the work of the Policy Review Working Groups announced on 14 December 2006;
	(4)  whether remuneration will be given to non-ministerial members of the Policy Review Working Groups;
	(5)  how many times she expects each of the Policy Review Working Groups to meet before completing their work;
	(6)  what the terms of reference are for each of the Policy Review Working Groups announced on 14 December 2006;
	(7)  where meetings of the Policy Review Working Groups will take place;
	(8)  whether special advisers will support the work of the Policy Review Working Groups announced on 14 December 2006;
	(9)  when the Policy Review working groups on  (a) Britain and the World,  (b) Environment and Energy,  (c) Public Services,  (d) the Role of the State and  (e) Crime and Security last met; and who attended each meeting;
	(10)  what role the Minister without Portfolio plays in the Policy Review Working Groups announced by the Prime Minister on 14 December 2006;
	(11)  which experts have been appointed to work with the Policy Review Working Groups on  (a) Britain and the World,  (b) Environment and Energy,  (c) Public Services,  (d) the Role of the State and  (e) Crime and Security;
	(12)  what estimate she has made of the total cost to the public purse of running the Policy Review Working Groups that were announced on 14 December 2006;
	(13)  how many civil servants in Government Departments will prepare work for the Policy Review Working Groups; and at what grades.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by the Prime Minister's official spokesman on 19 October. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website (http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page 10244.asp) and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The aim of the policy review is to identify long-term trends and new challenges and examine how existing policies need to be changed to continue to meet the country's priorities. The Policy Review process will conclude in spring of 2007. The results will feed into a range of different pieces of government business ranging from the 2007 comprehensive spending review, public service agreement targets, White Papers, the budget and other aspects of government business.
	Details of the membership of Policy Review Working Groups and related Cabinet Committee business are also available on the Cabinet Office website (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/secretariats/economic_and_domestic/policy_review/index.asp) and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. There are no non-ministerial members of the working groups.
	Further information about the deliberations of the working groups and the other work strands supporting the policy review, including the citizen's forums, has now been published on the Cabinet Office website (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/) and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The policy review is a high priority for the whole of Government, including Cabinet Office and No 10.

Public Administration Committee Report

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Government plan to implement recommendation 1 of the Fourth Report from the Public Administration Committee 2002-03 titled Government by Appointment: Opening up the Patronage State; and if she will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave on 11 October 2006,  Official Report, column 749W.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much her Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: Departmental records are not structured in a way that readily identifies how much my Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997.
	This information is therefore only available at disproportionate cost.

Transformational Government Report

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on producing the Transformational Government enabled by technology- report; and how much was accounted for by  (a) report costs,  (b) staff costs and  (c) production, copying and distribution of the accompanying DVD.

Patrick McFadden: The Government promised in Transformational Government-Enabled by Technology (Cm6683) to publish an annual report to Parliament.
	The Annual Report communicates the progress so far in the first year of the Transformational Government Strategy. The UK public sector technology portfolio is 12.4 billion a year, operating in over 140 countries with tens of millions of transactions a day, running some of the world's largest computer systems.
	Costs of the Transformational Government Annual Report (Cm. 6970) are estimated at 123,000, comprising:
	 (a) 45,000 on production covering the design, editing, layout and printing of 500 copies of the report
	 (b) 36,000 in estimated staff time costs of the team of existing Cabinet Office staff who managed the production of the Report; and
	 (c) 42,000 on the production and copying of the accompanying DVD, including the cost of all filming and the services of a professional editor.
	The report and the DVD together help to form the primary communication channel for getting the Transformational Government message out to both central and wider government, as well as the supplier base, the media and the general public.
	This will help to communicate effectively the nature of the requirements and the early successes of a major, long-term endeavour across to a wide-range of stakeholders in a very short time. Previous experience with the Transformational Government Strategy, which has been downloaded over 141,000 times since November 2005, shows that downloading the report is likely to be very popular.

TREASURY

Correspondence

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Complaints Manager of Inland Revenue, Salford, to reply to the letter of 5 November 2006 from Mr. Ian McDonald of Olney, Buckinghamshire.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs sent a full reply to Mr. McDonald on 18 January and apologised for the delay in doing so.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 11 December 2006 (PO Ref: 1/46688/2006).

John Healey: The hon. Gentleman's letter concerned a matter for which the Department for Transport is responsible and it was transferred to that Department for their response.

Energy Saving Products

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors were taken into account when deciding not to include double glazing in the energy saving products which attract the lower rate of VAT of 5 per cent.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government carefully considers all representations for changes to the VAT system, and all taxes are kept under review. To date VAT reduced rates have been applied only in respect of goods and services where we consider that a reduction in the rate of VAT is consistent with our EU VAT agreements, and provide the best-targeted and most efficient support for our social objectives, when considered against alternative policy instruments.
	Since 1997 the Government have introduced a range of measures to improve the energy efficiency of residential housing, in addition to VAT reduced rates. In the latest pre-Budget report alone, the Chancellor announced further support for the Government's Energy Efficiency Commitment, which requires energy suppliers to achieve energy efficiency targets for the household sector. Other measures and initiatives announced in the pre-Budget report include an examination of new methods for financing energy audits and energy-saving measures; tax measures to support 'zero-carbon' homes, along with an ambition that all new homes will be 'zero-carbon' within a decade; and an extension to the Landlords Energy Saving Allowance.

HMRC: Industrial Action

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the proposed industrial action by officers at HM Revenue and Customs on 31 January; and if he will extend the deadline for tax returns to be submitted.

Dawn Primarolo: The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has called a one-day strike on 31 January as part of a 'discontinuous action'. This means the union could also call on members to strike on other days, without holding another ballot. The PCS is also asking members to take action short of a strike. This could include a ban on overtime working after 31 January.
	HMRC is committed to keeping as many offices open as possible on 31 January. As they are every year, customers are encouraged to send in their tax returns as early as possible to avoid any last minute rush.
	We will not extend the statutory deadline for tax returns to be submitted.
	If a local office is unavailable on 31 January, customers should deliver their return as soon as possible on the following day and they will not be penalised.

Long-term Expenditure

Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what accounting convention is used for expressing the costs of long-term public expenditure over periods of  (a) 20,  (b) 30 and  (c) 50 years;
	(2)  if he will give examples of where his Department uses cash costs for long-term expenditure over 30 or more years.

Stephen Timms: The Government's long-term public finance report provides a comprehensive analysis of socio-economic and demographic trends and their potential impact on the public finances over a 50-year period. Spending projections model the demand for public spending based on population structures in future years. Expenditure is projected to occur at the point at which the economic impact is deemed to arise, not at the point of cash flows. The report is based on an accruals measure and is consistent with the way in which outturn information on public spending is presented in the national accounts.

Long-term Expenditure

Tony Wright: To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give examples of where his Department uses net-present value costings for public expenditure forecasts over 30 or more years.

Stephen Timms: Under reforms to the public spending framework introduced in 2000 the UK Government have a statutory obligation to report liabilities in the same way as private companies and the accounts of public sector bodies are subject to independent audit.
	Where the public sector has a liability that meets the conditions of FRS12 then the value of that liability, calculated as the discounted value of future cash flows, is shown on the relevant public sector body's balance sheet.
	Examples of long-term liabilities accounted for in this way include public sector pensions and the costs of nuclear decommissioning.

Tax Inspectors

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers tax inspectors have to conduct intrusive surveillance; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC may apply to use certain surveillance powers including intrusive surveillance when tackling serious crime related to ex-Customs and Excise matters. These powers can only be used for investigations into serious crime, and then only where it is necessary and proportionate. The use of intrusive surveillance powers requires the approval of an independent Surveillance Commissioner.
	The Serious Crime Bill introduced in the House of Lords on 16 January 2007 includes provisions that would make intrusive surveillance available to HMRC for tackling serious crime related to ex-Inland Revenue matters. There would be no changes to the power itself or the accompanying safeguards for citizensthe same strict legal tests would have to be passed before the power could be used. Under the provisions in the Serious Crime Bill only specifically authorised officers engaged in investigating into serious tax crime can apply to use the power; intrusive surveillance can only be used in certain criminal investigations. It cannot be used by tax inspectors or any other HMRC officer for routine civil compliance work, for example checking tax returns.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2006,  Official Report, column 845W, on the Valuation Office Agency, what the total cost to the public purse was of each foreign visit; how many staff went on each visit; and what the  (a) purpose and  (b) destination was of each visit.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 16 January 2007
	Two destinations were regrettably omitted from my answer given on 30 November 2006,  Official Report, column 854W. Valuation Office Agency (VOA) staff have made 10 foreign visits in the last 12 months and have visited America, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Spain, France, China and Belgium. I am grateful for this opportunity to set the record straight.
	The additional detailed information now requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library  (a) a copy of the August 2005 HIYA! in-house magazine produced by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and  (b) copies of the previous in-house staff magazines produced by the VOA from January 2003 to July 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 16 January 2007
	I have placed in the Library copies of HIYA! and copies of the previous in-house staff magazines produced by the Valuation Office Agency from January 2003 to July 2005.

HEALTH

Care Home Costs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people in residential care homes paid third-party top-up fees in each London borough in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr. Stuart) on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1755W.

Clinical Work Transfers: Lancashire

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will ensure that hon. Members representing Lancashire constituencies are formally consulted on plans to transfer clinical work from the NHS to the private sector in the county;
	(2)  what consultation is being conducted by each primary care trust in Lancashire on proposals to transfer clinical work from NHS hospitals to the private sector;
	(3)  when she expects the contract between the NHS and Netcare for the provision of clinical services in Lancashire to be signed;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect on Queen's Park hospital, Blackburn, of the proposed transfer of services to Netcare.

Andy Burnham: Extensive discussions about the clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) model within the health economy were conducted at the time the 2005 strategic delivery framework was produced. The engagement and development of the Cumbria and Lancashire CATS scheme has been carried out by a team from the Commercial Directorate of the Department in collaboration with representatives of the strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trusts (PCTs) in Cumbria and Lancashire, and with the active support and involvement of what is now the North West SHA. Local healthcare professionals and clinicians were involved in the evaluation of the bids received.
	In addition, the PCTs in Cumbria and Lancashire have decided, after discussion with the joint overview and scrutiny committees, to conduct a formal consultation exercise about CATS, which commenced on 15 January 2007. Hon. Members will be able to contribute to this consultation.
	This will be supplemented by wider engagement with the public, patient representatives and local clinicians through meetings, which will help inform the local implementation of the CATS scheme, to be held by both the Department's project team and PCTs in the areas covered by the CATS scheme. This ongoing process of consultation and engagement is designed to ensure that all members of the health economy, including patients, primary care trusts, acute trusts (and staff groups within those organisations) have the chance to understand and comment on the solution that is developed.
	Upon completion of negotiations with the preferred provider, a contract is anticipated to be awarded for the Cumbria and Lancashire CATS scheme in late spring 2007.
	As regards Blackburn, a site has been identified further to discussions with the East Lancashire PCT which does not involve the use of the Queens Park hospital site. The PCT and SHA will be working together to manage the impact of the introduction of CATS, not just in Blackburn, but across the whole of Cumbria and Lancashire.

Echocardiograms: Portsmouth

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been waiting for echocardiograms to be carried out by the Portsmouth NHS Trust for  (a) three,  (b) six,  (c) nine and  (d) longer than nine months; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is provided in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Diagnostic provider waiting statistics for Portsmouth hospitals national health service trust month ending 30 November 2006, length of time patients still waiting 
			  Diagnostic test  Cardiology-echocardiography 
			 0-13 weeks 453 
			 13-26 weeks 283 
			 26-39 weeks 173 
			 39-52 weeks 22 
			 52+ weeks 2 
			 Total waiting 933 
			  Source:  Monthly diagnostics collection 
		
	
	The trust has an action plan in place to secure additional capacity and reduce waiting times.
	By the end of 2008, no patient will wait more than 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to the start of treatment, including diagnostic tests.

Genetically Modified Organisms

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps the EU is taking to prevent further contamination of EU food and feed chains by unapproved genetically modified organisms;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to prevent further contamination of UK food and feed chains by unapproved genetically modified organisms;
	(3)  what steps the Food Standards Agency is taking to prevent further contamination of UK food and feed chains by unapproved genetically modified organisms.

Caroline Flint: European food law places primary responsibility on food operators to ensure that the food and animal feed that they sell complies with food safety legislation. The European Commission has powers to introduce emergency measures to control the import of potentially contaminated food and feed and has done so in cases where this is necessary, such as following the discovery of unauthorised genetically modified (GM) material in long grain rice from the United States. The Commission also represents the European Union (EU) in discussions with trading partners on issues where there is an agreed EU position, including GM food and feed. The Commission, through its Joint Research Centre (JRC), is also able to provide practical support for laboratories involved in analysing food and feed for unauthorized GM material. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is encouraging the Commission and the JRC to expand this work. At national level, the FSA is responsible for overseeing the food law enforcement activities of local authorities. It also supports local authorities by funding training, providing grants and making other resources available.

Health Services: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting list time for  (a) patients of Chorley hospital and  (b) cancer patients of Chorley hospital were in each year since 1997; and which (i) hospitals, (ii) care trusts and (iii) foundation trusts in Lancashire are in budget deficit.

Andy Burnham: The information is not available in the format requested. Information for the national health service organisations which Chorley hospital has been part of since 1997 is contained in the tables shown.
	
		
			  Median in-patient waits for Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, provider based, 1997 to 2000 
			   Median (weeks) 
			  As at March each year:  Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust  Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust  Combined 
			 1997 11.2 14.9 13.9 
			 1998 10.6 14.1 12.8 
			 1999 11.8 11.9 11.9 
			 2000 10.4 11.1 11.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Median out-patient waits for Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, provider based, 1997 to 2000 
			   Median (weeks) 
			  As at March each year:  Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust  Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust  Combined 
			 1997 7.3 6.2 6.5 
			 1998 8.3 7.5 7.8 
			 1999 7.0 8..3 7.9 
			 2000 8.9 8.0 8.3 
		
	
	
		
			  Median waiting times for in-patients and out-patients in Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, provider based, 2001 and 2002 
			   Median (weeks) 
			  As at March each year:  In-patient  Out-patient 
			 2001 10.4 7.7 
			 2002 10.4 8.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Median waiting times for in-patients and out-patients in Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (provider based), 2003 to 2006 
			   Median (weeks) 
			  As at March each year:  In-patient  Out-patient 
			 2003 10.0 7.4 
			 2004 9.7 7.0 
			 2005 8.1 7.1 
			 2006 7.7 6.6 
			  Notes: 1. In-patient waiting time based on median wait of those still waiting at end of period. Out-patient waiting times based on time waited for those seen during the quarter. 2. Prior to the financial year 2000-01, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust existed as two separate trustsChorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. In 2000-01 these trusts merged (with part of Chorley being allocated to another trust), keeping the name Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. In the financial year 2002-03, this became Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. The 'combined' figures given prior to 2000-01 are based on a sum of the two merged trusts. Due to the division of Chorley as part of the trust merger, the medians prior to 2000-01 should be regarded as estimates as they are based on data that does not fully represent the area currently covered by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.  Source: Department of Health, KHO7, QMO8 and monthly monitoring 
		
	
	With regard to hospital deficits, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust are the only NHS organisations in Lancashire currently in budget deficit.

Health Services: Hertfordshire

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from Ministers in other Government Departments on the provision of health services in Hertfordshire since 1 December 2006.

Andy Burnham: There have been no representations made to the Secretary of State for Health or departmental Ministers from Ministers in other Government Departments on the provision of health services in Hertfordshire.

Hospital Choice Document

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of  (a) publishing and  (b) disseminating the publication Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England was published in November 2006 on www.nhs.uk. 100,000 hard-copies of the booklet were printed for distribution to general practitioners' practices and libraries via primary care trusts. The total cost of publication, including the compilation of the necessary information, was 191,000. The cost of distribution was 3,500.

Hospital Choice Document

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of the publication Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England were ordered by her Department; by what criteria hospitals were included or excluded from the publication; and whether her Department plans to revise the publication to include all NHS hospitals.

Andy Burnham: 100,000 copies of the Choosing your hospitalNational Menu were printed and distributed to primary care trusts for onward distribution to patients via general practitioner practices, other primary care professionals and local libraries.
	Hospitals were included in the publication if they were within the extended choice network (ECN) of providers made up of national health service foundation trusts, wave one independent sector treatment centres and other nationally appointed independent sector providers.
	Other NHS trusts will become part of the ECN as they gain foundation status. The national menu will be updated accordingly.

Hospital Services

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the financial situation and the consequences for services at Queen Mary's hospital, Sidcup; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We published the national health service financial performance for the second quarter of 2006-07 on the 9 November 2006. At quarter two, Queen Mary's Hospital Sidcup NHS Trust is forecasting a year-end deficit of 5.4 million.
	In those NHS organisations with deficits, the targets we have set, for example on waiting times and access to cancer treatment, are being met. The overall quality of services to patients continues to improve. However, we do not underestimate the tough decisions needed by a minority of organisations to restore financial balance.

Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services: Manchester

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consultation there has been on the proposed integrated clinical assessment and treatment services in Greater Manchester with Greater Manchester  (a) hon. Members,  (b) primary care trusts and  (c) residents;
	(2)  whether a business case has been published for the integrated clinical assessment and treatment services proposed for Greater Manchester;
	(3)  where she expects the integrated clinical assessment and treatment services for Greater Manchester to be established;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the new integrated clinical assessment and treatment services proposed for Greater Manchester on the financial viability of NHS hospital trusts in the conurbation;
	(5)  whether NHS hospital trusts will be allowed to compete for integrated clinical assessment and treatment services contracts in Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham: The aim of the clinical assessment and treatment services (CATS) being procured from the independent sector in Greater Manchester is to reduce waiting times for patients and offer services closer to their homes.
	It is anticipated that CATS in Greater Manchester will be provided by both national health service and independent sector providers. In addition to NHS CATS centres, it is envisaged that a total of six independent sector facilities will be located in areas well served by public transport to provide ease of access for patients. Negotiations are on-going as to their location.
	There is no published business case at this stage. There has been a central review of the outline business case which will require final Department and HM Treasury approval.
	NHS North West is working with local primary care trusts (PCTs) to assess and manage the impact on acute and foundation trusts in Greater Manchester. Local consultation is also a matter for PCTs and I understand that there have been on-going discussions with the overview and scrutiny committees about the development of CATS services together with a series of workshops with acute trusts in Greater Manchester.

Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services: Manchester

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the financial impact on the acute and foundation trusts in Greater Manchester of the introduction of the integrated clinical assessment treatment centres;
	(2)  what recent assessment she has made of the potential financial impact on the acute and foundation trusts in Greater Manchester of the opting-out by any Primary Care Trust from the service provided by the integrated clinical assessment treatment centres.

Andy Burnham: The Department continues to work with the NHS North West strategic health authority (SHA), which is leading on the procurement of clinical assessment and treatment services from the independent sector. The SHA is working with local primary care trusts to assess and manage the impact on acute and foundation trusts in Greater Manchester.

Ministerial Visits

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) used a ministerial car at any point in his journey toSt. Albans in December 2006; whether he was accompanied by civil servants; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I did not use a ministerial car at any point on my journey to St. Albans in December 2006 and was not accompanied by any civil servants.

NHS Chiropody Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the extent of  (a) the effect of changes to the eligibility criteria for access to NHS chiropody services and  (b) regional variations in access to NHS chiropody services;
	(2)  how many  (a) contacts and  (b) new contacts there were between NHS chiropodists and patients in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what recent progress her Department has made towards establishing high street drop-in centres for chiropody;
	(4)  what plans she has to undertake a full review of NHS chiropody services; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: No central assessment has been carried out or is planned for this service. It is for local national health service trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, outlined in the national service frameworks, and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of chiropody.
	'Our health, our care, our say', set out the future direction for healthcare. The implementation will address improved access to allied health professions, including chiropody. We are establishing pilot sites for the introduction of self-referral to physiotherapy. Lessons learnt from these pilots will be applicable to other therapies and we will be working closely with the professions on this.
	Information about chiropody contacts is available in the NHS chiropody services summary information. The following table is taken from that information. The collection of these data was discontinued in 2005. Data about face-to-face contacts were discontinued in 2000. Information continues to be collected centrally for reference costing purposes. However, this is not separately identifiable.
	
		
			  NHS chiropody services summary information (KT23) 
			  Number (thousand) 
			   Initial contacts( 1)  First contacts( 2) 
			 2004-05 769 2,035 
			 2003-04 800 2.116 
			 2002-03 823 2,163 
			 2001-02 828 2,213 
			 2000-01 834 2,262 
			 (1) New episodes of care. (2) Different persons seen in the year.

Pay Settlements

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the assumption of 2.5 per cent. for pay settlement and drift used to inform the pay, price and reform uplift to the tariff in 2007-08 was taken into account in determining the 1.7 per cent. increase in the tariff for pay; what definitions of pay settlement and drift she is using; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The tariff uplift is based on the estimated increase in the cost of services within the hospital and community health service (HCHS) sector. The 2.5 per cent. increase in pay settlement and drift translates into a 1.7 per cent. increase in HCHS costs because pay represents around two-thirds of total HCHS costs.
	Pay settlement is the level of pay increase awarded following the recommendation by pay review bodies. Pay drift is the increase in paybill beyond increases due to workforce growth, pay settlement and staff on-costs. For example, a decrease in workforce growth or improved staff retention may lead to pay drift due to a change in the distribution of staff between different incremental points on the pay scale.

Rats

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of how many injuries and illnesses were caused by rats in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Injuries data are collected by the Department on the number of hospital admissions for injuries caused by rat bites. These data do not include individuals who did not attend hospital or patients who attended accident and emergency departments but were not admitted. Information is not available on whether the person was bitten in the United Kingdom (UK) or abroad, or bitten by a wild or captive rat.
	The figures for the last five years for England are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Admissions 
			 2000-02 19 
			 2002-03 21 
			 2003-04 21 
			 2004-05 23 
			 2005-06 18 
		
	
	Leptospirosis is the main disease in humans caused by rats in the UK. Figures for laboratory confirmed cases of leptospirosis in the UK are shown in the table.
	
		
			   Scotland  England and Wales  Northern Ireland 
			 2002 3 54 1 
			 2003 0 28 0 
			 2004 2 29 1 
			 2005 4 41 1 
			 2006 n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available.  Source: Zoonoses Report 2005 
		
	
	Information on leptospirosis prevention and treatment is available on the Health Protection Agency website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/zoonoses/leptospirosis/menu.htm

Rats

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research the Department has commissioned into the potential health hazards caused by rats.

Caroline Flint: The Department has not commissioned any research into the potential health hazards caused by rats as these are already well known.

Social Services: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated by central Government to local government for social services in Gravesham local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The provision of social services in the Gravesham area is the responsibility of Kent county council. Funding for local authorities' social service responsibilities are paid through formula grant (revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates) and specific grant. Formula grant is unhypothecated provision and decisions on the use of that grant are for local authorities to make, bearing in mind their statutory responsibilities and the wishes of their electorate. Under the provisional local government finance settlement 2007-08, Kent county council receives a formula grant of 228.685 million, which is an increase of 2.7 per cent. on a like for like basis. In addition, Kent will receive the following revenue grants for adult social care amounting to 42.591 million:
	
		
			million 
			 Access and systems capacity 13.386 
			 Children and adolescent mental health services 1.786 
			 Carers grants 4.353 
			 Commission for Social Care Inspection 0.017 
			 Delayed discharge 2.477 
			 HR development strategy 1.082 
			 Improving management information 0.479 
			 Mental health grant 2.870 
			 National training strategy 2.335 
			 Preserved rights 12.217 
			 Preventative technology grant 1.245 
			 Mental Capacity Act and the independent mental capacity advocate 0.344

Tuberculosis

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-British patients were treated in London hospitals for tuberculosis in the last three years for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of people treated for tuberculosis (TB) in London hospitals by place of treatment is not available centrally.
	Details of the number of TB case reports for non-British patients in the London region are provided in the following table. This accounts for the amount of non-British TB case reports, and not the amount of non-British patients that received treatment.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 2,300 
			 2004 2,300 
			 2005 2,578 
			  Source:  Health Protection Agency enhanced tuberculosis surveillance (ETS) by London region (non-United Kingdom-born). Data as at 23 January 2007.

Weight Statistics

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people classified as  (a) overweight,  (b) obese and  (c) underweight in each English region in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adults is the Health Survey for England. The information is not available in the format requested. The most recent data on obesity prevalence by Government Office Region is collected in the Health Survey for England 2003. However, due to variation in sample sizes in each year, it is not possible to provide data to this level of detail in all years.
	The table sets out the data on the prevalence of underweight, desirable, overweight and obese adults by Government Office Region and gender in Health Survey for England 2003.
	
		
			  Prevalence of underweight, desirable, overweight and obesity (observed and age-standardised), by Government Office Region and gender, England 2003 
			  Percentage 
			   North East  North West  Yorkshire and the Humber  East Midlands  West Midlands  East England  London  South East  South West 
			 Men  
			 Observed  
			 18.5 or under (underweight) 0.7 2.0 2.6 1.6 1.7 0.6 1.5 1.3 0.4 
			 Over 18.5-25 (desirable) 34.2 32.4 31.0 29.7 31.8 31.8 40.3 33.6 31.3 
			 Over 25 (overweight, including obese) 65.1 65.6 66.4 68.7 66.5 67.6 58.2 65.2 68.4 
			 Over 30 (obese)1 23.0 23.9 25.2 23.5 23.0 24.0 17.6 19.9 22.8 
			 Over 40 (morbidly obese) 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.6 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.4 
			   
			 Age standardised  
			 Over 25 (overweight, including obese) 62.0 63.7 65.3 67.6 65.2 66.0 58.6 62.4 65.5 
			 Over 30 (obese)1 21.5 23.0 24.6 22.8 22.5 23.6 17.8 18.9 21.2 
			 Over 40 (morbidly obese) 1.1 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.6 1.0 0.9 0.6 1.2 
			   
			 Women  
			 Observed  
			 18.5 or under (underweight) 1.1 2.2 2.3 1.5 1.8 1.8 3.4 2.0 2.1 
			 Over 18.5-25 (desirable) 39.7 38.0 42.3 41.1 37.0 41.7 49.1 46.2 42.1 
			 Over 25 (overweight, including obese) 59.2 59.8 55.4 57.4 61.2 56.6 47.5 51.8 55.8 
			 Over 30 (obese)(1) 24.3 24.2 23.9 24.0 28.7 24.0 20.1 19.3 21.1 
			 Over 40 (morbidly obese) 1.6 2.4 4.7 4.1 2.7 3.4 2.2 2.5 1.6 
			   
			 Age standardised  
			 Over 25 (overweight, including obese) 59.7 58.8 55.0 56.3 60.2 55.4 49.0 49.5 53.5 
			 Over 30 (obese)1 24.9 23.8 23.8 23.3 28.8 23.5 20.7 18.5 20.1 
			 Over 40 (morbidly obese) 1.7 2.3 4.7 4.1 2.6 3.4 2.3 2.6 2.4 
			   
			 Bases (unweighted)  
			 Men 368 849 560 574 629 728 727 930 601 
			 Women 468 1,006 667 678 778 825 837 1,119 712 
			   
			 Bases (weighted)  
			 Men 339 878 634 591 676 755 930 1,052 663 
			 Women 376 901 650 582 696 735 876 1,071 683 
			   
			 (1) The definition of obese includes informants with a BMI exceeding 40 kg/m2  Source: Health Survey for England 2003. The Department of Health